The Mission
by sparkleshadowcat
Summary: Naruto Yaoi, Kankuro/Kiba pairing. Prologue to "Don't let our strings break" Kiba and Akamaru is sent on a mission to Suna. Lite does Kiba know that feelings will heat up there that will affect his future.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note:**

 **This is a Fanfiction – prologue to my upcoming fiction idea with my favorite "Naruto" slash pairing. Kankuro/Kiba.**

" **Talking"**

' _ **Thinking'**_

 _ **(Time-jump)**_

 _ **I'm always happy to talk with Naruto-fans, don't hesitate to comment.**_

It all started after the Retrieve-Sasuke Mission really. Two very different Shinobis would be destined to cross path several times. One from Suna, a well- trained Puppet-master who reputation preceded him as one of the coldest people of the Sand village. Brother to the feared Gaara of Desert, one could only imagine what power the big brother had in his core.  
The other, not as famous but yet fairly acknowledge among the people in Konoha, hidden leaf village; Inuzuka Kiba. The youngest son of the highest ranked families in the tracking field.  
And even if both were to prideful and too cocky to get along at first, it turned out quite unexpected relationship between the two. All it took was a mission in the heat of Suna….

It was a normal spring day, about a year and a half after Naruto had left on his journey with Jiryaia.

* * *

"Inuzuka Kiba! I assign you to a mission; to deliver a scroll to the village of Sand, more correctly the new Kazekage; Sabaku no Gaara." Lady Tsunade said to the lonely teen in the office. "Normally I would send at least two men for a task like this, but the village is very busy. And since you have your comrade Kiba, I count that as enough of a tag-team."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. When do we leave?"

"At sunrise. The journey will take you three days. Gaara has already been Kazekage for a week, and it's important that Konoha acknowledge his new status and quickly send someone over there. It's important to keep the relationship at friendly terms between us." She said firmly and then eyed the brunette in front of her.

Kiba resisted the urge to shudder under that suspicious stare. "Tsunade-sama?"

"Behave yourself over there, Kiba. I know for a fact that your temperament can be as unsteady as a certain loud-mouth blond we both know. I expect your best behavior."

The canine-handler's eye twitched by the mention of Naruto, not wanting to be compared with the idiot's bad traits. "y-yes."

"Good. I have the scroll ready for you at the gate by the time of your leave. Stay safe out there."

* * *

 **(Two and a half day later)**

"Alright Akamaru! With this speed we will be arriving at the Hidden Sand village before nightfall. As expected of the Inuzuka clan!"

"Arf!"

Kiba laughed as his partner tunneled under him to have him ride on his back. "Easy boy, don't strain yourself!"

 **(A half day later, by midnight)**

The dynamic duo panted as they finally reached the main Gate of the village. Not much chakra left in his system, Kiba fell to his knees beside his comrade, embarrassed to admit that they had pushed themselves too hard. "Ok…so it was a little longer than it looked. It's all this damn sand." He panted as he picked up a hand full of the sun-powder and threw it away in protest, like it would make a difference.  
Then taking out his water bottle, he gave Akamaru the last splash of water. "Be glad you are white. Kuromaru would not be very happy in this heat that will surely come at first light."  
The Inuzuka looked up at the big stone wall as his partner drank. The wall was not very different from the one in Konoha. It was their first visit in the sand village, so he was not very sure how to find his way. But that would be a later problem. First a quick well needed breather…

Dark eyes opened and a small groan left Kankuro's lips. This was the third time he woke up in an hour. Tangled in his bedsheets, he somehow managed to turn and look at the time. It showed a little after 1 a clock in the morning. Despite the time, he wouldn't be able to turn back to sleep and he knew why: His training had not gone very well. His new puppet was not acting the way he wanted it too. And that fact stressed him out more than he wanted to admit. Gaara was now Kazekage, and it was Kankuro duty to protect him. He couldn't afford any broken tools.  
With a grunt he threw the bedsheet off and started to get dressed. It was no time to rest until his problem was solved.  
His apartment roof was a perfect spot to train undisturbed. The cold breeze was a good contribution to a relaxed mind, despite the high voices of the night folks on the streets below.  
The roof was wide and open, giving him much room for movement. His puppet Karasu, however, did not want to corroborate with him tonight any more than before. It limbs jammed and the puppet behaved like an old man in general. He knew he had a couple of mechanic hours ahead of him. Blue chakra strings twisted from his fingers as he commanded the puppet to fly another lap. Too focused on his task, the image of white in the corner of his eye took him by complete surprise. With a yell he threw Karasu at the new aura. "What the hell!"

It was a dog. A white dog. It managed to avoid the puppets attack and Kankuro took a big leap backwards to get his act together. The animal was so wrong in this picture. Not many people in Suna had animals except from eagles. "What the hell does a mutt doing here?" he said out loud, causing the dog to bark back at him and move forward.

"Nu-uh, stay right there, dog. Don't want any disease from you! … wait a minute…I know you."

"Arf!" The dog didn't move from his spot, but he was jumping up and down, obviously trying to communicate. He didn't know why it was familiar, but it was. Somewhere on a mission. That barking. Those ears…those eyes…he vision it in a smaller version. Small enough to carry on top of the head. Then it hit him.

"Mutt! It's you! From Konoha." Before he had time to do anything else, Akamaru dashed forward and took a good grip of Kankuro black shirt and started to pull him along. The puppet-master was taken off guard, making his Karasu crash to the floor and remained unmoving as the strings were disconnected. "OI! What are you doing? Let go! Oi!" But the dog was persistent. Even when Kankuro took a hand full of fur in his neck he took advantage and pulled harder so the teen would go with him.

* * *

"I said hold him!" A man yelled as his comrade hit the stone wall opposite of them. The ally was small but the force was enough to knock the man out cold. The man who had yelled turned back to the Konoha stranger who was being restrained by two other drunks. "You bastard, you pay for this!"

Kiba struggled but without chakra it was much more difficult to fight these adrenaline junkies. He should have known Suna was not a village where he should walked around alone at night. Especially when he was a stranger from another land. The scent of the street should have been enough proof. As soon as he had left the gate-guards he had picked up the smell of alcohol, vomit and nightlife. At first he had managed to ignore the name calling and whistles from these particular drunks but after a while of walking, they had actually managed to intercept him and pulled him into this ally. All for a fight.  
Kiba had quickly evaluated the situation. Normally he wouldn't mind defending himself against assholes like this, but he was here on a personal mission by the Hokage. An incident like this would not look very good, even though these guys didn't seem like Shinobis. He had chosen to send Akamaru ahead to alert someone, so the situation would clear up as peaceful as possible. However, these guys did not waste much time. Probably very familiar in this kind of stunt.

"Whoa, look guys. A Konoha bandana." The man, obviously the leader, smacked Kiba's forehead, making the metal ring. "The brat sure seems full of himself don't he?"

"Look, I don't want any trouble alright; I'm here on a mission from my village. So take the few yen I have and we call it the night ok?" he bit out reluctantly. To act professional surely was a pain sometimes.

"Did you hear that fellas, the ninja don't want any trouble." The man got in close to Kiba's personal space while his comrades laughed at the statement. "You sure picked the wrong career for that. I hate ninjas, especially from Konoha. My sister was killed by you scums in the last war."

"Many people were killed in the last war. On both sides." Kiba stated and that earned him a well-aimed punch in the gut. If it wasn't for the two men holding him, he would have fallen to the ground.

"Shut up, you insolent filth." The leader growled. "You are going to be sorry you put your foot on Sand village ground."

"How about I keep him? He is a cute thing, isn't he?" The man holding Kiba's right arm said.

"Shut up you fag!" the leader yelled and raised his fist warningly.

"Whatever you want to do, brother, just do it." The man on Kiba's left slurred making the Inuzuka recoil of the strong smell of sake. "My arms are getting tired."

That was just the information Kiba needed. Regaining new strength he used the men's hold of him and kicked up both his legs, sending the leader backwards into the wall like his fallen comrade. The leader recovered quickly though, and launched himself forward with his whole body. Kiba used his last strength and pulled his left arm forward causing the slurred man get into the crossfire of the leaders flying attack. The two brothers collided with a crash, but Kiba victory was short-lived. He had aimed for a quick retreat but his right arm was still stubbornly locked by the third man.

"Give it up already!" Kiba yelled but growled in pain as he was thrown head first into the wall. It was his temple who took the hit and he felt something warm started to drip down his face before he was turned around and pinned against the stone surface. In his dazed state his body slumped against the wall for support, he registered a small snicker, a soft brush of fingertips over his red tattoo triangles smearing out his blood and then crushing lips against his own. The nauseous feeling of the sloppy tongue forced itself into his mouth was replaced in seconds by and intense anger flaming up into his core.

' _Well Hokage-sama. I tried'._

Kiba closed his eyes and put both of his hands on the creep's shoulders. ' _This will be my last chakra:_ _Gijū Ninpō: Jūjin Bunshin' (_ Beast Ninja Art: Beast Human Clone)  
It was with great satisfaction that he felt how his nails grew a few centimeters as claws and didn't wait to dig them into the man's key bone. With a cry in pain, the man pulled back and backed away with a shocked face. "Y-your hands! Impossible!" Then he was looking at Kiba's sadistic smirk, showing off his sharp fangs. The man cried out in horror, but Kiba was fast and attacked him, this time pinning the man against the opposite wall himself.

"Take this you worthless son of a bitch!" Without hesitation Kiba dug his sharp teeth into the man's jaw, ignoring the streaming blood flow running into his mouth and down his own chin. He felt it continue down his chest and drip on his sandals. The man's scream of bloody murder was a song of justice and karma. He didn't care about the consequences; just to hurt this particular guy as much as possible. And he would probably rip off a bit of the man's face if it wasn't for the leader hitting him on the back of his head with a stone. With a surprised grunt, Kiba fell to his knees and was kicked away from the men. He didn't have any power left and saw the man raising the stone at him once more…

Until the arm was caught by a blue chakra string around the wrist halting its movements. The leader yelled out in surprise as he was thrown backwards.  
Kiba saw the leader fall, and then out of nowhere he felt another strong presence right next to him. A firm arm wrapped itself around his waist and pulled him close. Next thing he knew he was flying up on a ladder connected to the one of the houses of the ally. Kiba's first reaction was to fight as they reached the solid step of the ladder, but the arm was strong.

"Are you ok?" was a mere whisper in his ear. Kiba's eyes widened and he stopped fighting the embrace. He knew that voice. He knew that scent. He turned his head and met Kankuro's black eyes shining in the moonlight. "Kankuro?"

"What the hell are you doing in Suna?"

"Oi! You bastard, bring that brat back here!" the leader screamed from below, causing the duo to break eye-contact.

It was too dark for the leader to see who the black-clothe nuisance was, but he was clearly interference in their plans. Before he received an answer a deep growl was heard from the darkness of the ally. A white dog revealed itself from the shadows, barring his fangs against the man. His eyes were glowing with rage and the fur on his neck was standing up along with the thick tail.

"Oh my god." The leader backed away from the beast, crying out when he tripped on his fallen comrades and started to shake. "N-nice doggie…"

Akamaru gave out an intense roar loving the shaking soon-to-be-a-night-snack. His plan however was interrupted by the voice of his master.

"Akamaru, that's enough." The dog looked up at the duo. Kankuro whispered something to his master and then joined Akamaru on the ground.

"Of all incompetent, worthless, drunken, scumbags…you three have attacked an ally shinobi to our village." He stated with authority. First now he was recognized by the group that was slowly waking up on the ground. "S-sabaku no K-k-kankuro-sama!"

"Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once. Consider yourself lucky. I've seen your faces for the last time. Next time the four of you soil my presence you are going to become BBQ on the spear of my puppet Karasu. Stay away from the pubs, stay away from the streets. Stay out of my sight, and be grateful that I'm don't report you and have you banished. "

"Yes Kankuro-sama! Thank you Kankuro-sama!" With that the group was out of the ally with an impressive speed for their drunken state. Kankuro let out a sigh. If only the assholes could put their energy to better use than bar-fights. It could have gone really bad this time…And Gaara does not need international incidents like this. As he turned around he noticed the dog, previously at his side was gone. His eyes looked up at the ladder only to find it empty. Not too concerned he leaped up on the wooden steps and proceeded up to the roof.  
As he suspected he found the Konoha teen slowly walking over the roof, slightly leaning on his white comrade for support.

"I asked you some questions." He called out and joined the other who sat down.

"Right. I'm ok. Just out of chakra." Akamaru nuzzled his face, causing Kiba to smile gratefully. "Good boy, Akamaru. Your nose didn't let you down."

"What the hell are you doing here? Coming to Suna at night, causing fight with the villages is considered a crime to the peace-treaty. I should report you sorry ass." He saw how Kiba's eyebrow twitched and the teen bit his lip before answering with fake calm. Obviously wanted to give Kankuro a piece of his mind.

"First of all. I'm cleared and registered at the gate. Second, I was the one being attacked. I send Akamaru for help to avoid a fight. I'm here on a mission to deliver a message to Gaara."

"It's Kazekage Gaara for you. Don't use Uzumaki informal talk." Kankuro snorted. "The guard should have accompanied you."

"He wanted to, but since I have Akamaru I could go on my own to the inn."

"Except the mutt wasn't with you, was he?" Kankuro pointed out.

"He was until I was attacked, I see you let those drunks go, why don't you take some own responsibility for your people!" Kiba said before he could stop himself. The silence between them became heavy and Kankuro expression was cold as ice. Kiba let out a sour "tch" and with much effort got to his feet. He probably wouldn't talk like that. As he looked up again though he noted that Kankuro was actually smirking. Kiba frowned. "What?"

"I barely recognized you without the cocky attitude. But I commend you for trying to be professional. Can't really ask for much from a Konoha brat."

Kiba smirked back and started to halt away from the other. "Ok, I'd have enough of insults for one night. Let's go Akama…oi! What are you doing?" he cried out as Kankuro took his arm around his shoulder for support and started to lead him the opposite direction.

"Taking responsibility. You are not going to the Inn. You are coming with me."

"Says who?"

"Me obviously."

"I don't need to go with you." Kiba started to pull away but Kankuro held on. "Look kid, you can't go to that inn, that neighborhood is a lot more of the people you just crossed path with. And since we are this honest, you look like hell. You can't check in at the inn with this much blood on you without drawing attention to yourself. People will probably think you killed someone." Kankuro's eyes fell on the dog in front of them and who growled threatening at him, probably didn't like how he handled Kiba in a hold. "Stay back mutt, I won't hesitate to defend myself." He said and pointed a kunai at the growling animal.

Kiba quickly gripped hold of the kunai threatening his companion and Kankuro returned his attention back at him, locking Kiba against himself with both arms, ready for any kind of movement from the other. As they stood there, starring at each other again Kiba found himself lost in those dark eyes. Kankuro had surely grown since he last saw him. But the scent of the puppet-master brought back memories from the past.  
Kankuro's face-paint was different but that was not the main detail. The puppet-master natural lines in the face were more mature and handsome. Standing this close, Kiba also noticing the Suna Shinobi was quite taller than him. Last but not least, he had really worked out his body, his arms were strong and curvy around his more agile frame. "I'm taking you back to my place."

"What?" Kiba was pulled out from his musing.

"You need to clean yourself up and you can crash there as well. Tomorrow I'll escort you to Gaara."

"You mean Kazekage Gaara?" Kiba couldn't help but tease, but then winced as Kankuro purposely pulled him along rather harshly. "I see there might be hope for you after all."

* * *

Kiba soon found himself sitting on a sofa in the middle of the apartment. He didn't know why but he would expect the Kazekage big brother would be living in the main building as well. This was a very simple flat. There was a kitchen corner at his 1 a clock that didn't look like it was used very often; he also guessed the door on his right was the bed room. The front door was at his 11 a clock, and what was left was the room Kankuro came out from with a white bowl in his hands, probably the bathroom.  
Kankuro noticed that Kiba still sat where he left him. Not that he showed it, but it made him pleased. He hated noisy people who would look around in every corner and pick up every one of his belongings trying to figure out what kind of person Kankuro was. He had gone through that enough. People were curious about what kind of person the brother to Gaara was.  
The white mutt sitting between the brat and the sofa table getting scratched behind the ear. Normally he would insist that the dog would sleep outside, but he knew the brat would probably join him. And if he did that, then Kankuro couldn't keep an eye on him until they meet up with his brother.  
Without further fuzz, kankuro took a seat next to Kiba in the sofa, ignoring Akamaru low growl.

"Akamaru, Kankuro is helping us here. Calm yourself down." Kiba said with a slightly tired voice. It made Kankuro wary because it could have something to do with his injuries.

"You have a pretty nasty wound at the back of your head there, kid."

"A stone." Kiba answered and shivered as the other put a wet rag over his right temple. "And that was a wall." He hissed a little as it stung.

"Sounds like you had quite a dance…" Kankuro moved over at the back of Kiba's head washed the wound. His rag was filling up with blood quickly so he had to dip it in the water bowl and continued. "That gash is fairly long. But not too deep, I don't think I need to stitch it up. I'll get some stripes of medic-tape instead, kid."

"It's not kid."

"Huh?" Kankuro said as he turned around to meet Kiba's intense stare. "My name is not kid."

"Uh-hu." Kankuro left with that comment, making Kiba call after him. "You don't even remember my name, do you?" He let out a sigh and let it go. He was too damn exhausted to argue anymore. Kankuro may be difficult to get contact with, but at least he helped them tonight. And he would take up the offer to get some sleep.

Kankuro ignored the comment and started to look for more of his med-kit in the bathroom. After a minute he managed to find a few stripes of medic-tape. It was then he heard Akamaru bark in the living room.

"Quiet with you mutt, people are sleeping. Don't make me throw you outside." He said as he rejoined the duo. Then he realized his mistake. Kiba lay down on his sofa, seemingly unresponsive. "OI! Kid!" Kankuro quickly kneeled at his side trying to wake the other up. Akamaru let out a low whine.

"Oi! You are not allowed to sleep yet, I don't know if you have a concussion. Hey, kid!" With much effort and shaking the Konoha teen started to show sign of consciousness. "Kiba…" he whispered, which took Kankuro by surprise. "What?"

"It's Kiba. Inuzuka Kiba."

Realizing what the teen meant, he let out a light laugh of relief. "Alright…Kiba."

* * *

 **(And hour later)**

"You are probably more trouble than you are worth." Kankuro said as he put a cup of tea in Kiba's hands. The Inuzuka had tried to reassure him that he was fine too sleep but the puppet-master was not convinced. So here they were. Just sitting in uncomfortable silence in the middle of the night.

"I didn't ask to be dragged here, you know." Kiba snorted back but sook a zip of the warm drink.

"Well, I have to since you aren't able to take care of your own ass."

"Wow, you still are a self-centered bastard just like before aren't you Kankuro?" A small groan from Akamaru, told Kiba that the dog laying on the floor agreed with him.

"You know it's justified. This is not the first time I save you. Recall the Sound-twins?" Kankuro leaned back in the sofa.

"And do you recall that I returned the favor after that."

Kankuro's eyebrow twitched. He wasn't used to getting such back-talk. It was like the brat didn't try and be political polite anymore. He sent a side-glance at Kiba as the brunette took another zip of his tea. He had to admit, although silently to himself, Kiba had a confidence that wasn't all different from his own. The Konoha kid seemed to have grown up a bit. All that blood on him told Kankuro that he had done some serious damage too.  
Without thinking about it he raised the abandoned rag and put it on Kiba's chin causing the brunette to look at him. "What?"

"You look like hell. What caused you to draw so much blood?"

Kiba showed off his sharp canine teeth. "I tried to bite the face off one of those guys."

Kankuro lowered the rag, not able to hide his reaction. "Why would you pull a sadistic stunt like that?" He asked and met Kiba's serious stare. "Because he put it where it didn't belong." The brunette broke the eye contact and got up from the couch, starting to pace around. "Look I… maybe we shouldn't be here. I don't expect you to take my side…"

"If you say he had it coming, then that is enough for me." Kankuro nodded to the bathroom. "You can wash up in there."

Kiba looked at the door but didn't move. "Why are you helping me? You didn't even remember my name."

Too his surprise, Kankuro actually smirked. "That doesn't mean I don't remember you."

The looked at each other a while. Realizing he wasn't going to get a more clear answer, Kiba relented and went to the bathroom. The puppet-master had been right. He looked like hell with all that dried blood on his leather jacket and face. Taking care of that in a few minutes he moved on to the gash on his temple. It seemed to have stopped bleeding. He removed his head-protector so he could remove dried blood from his hair. Last he carefully let his fingers check the taped wound on the back on his head. Kankuro had done a very good job. All in all, he would be able to continue the mission the next day, and if he were lucky, maybe even be able to start his journey home before nightfall. With a sigh he leaned against the sink. He didn't like to admit it but he owed Kankuro for this. Despite the Suna ninja's attitude he had helped him out a lot.

"Are you ok?"

Kiba turned to the doorway; he hadn't even heard the older move. "Yeah. No problem. You're going to bed?"

"Yeah, it's been an hour and you don't seem to feel nauseous or dizzy so I figure your thick skull is fine." It was strange, as soon as the words left Kankuro's lips he seemed to regret them. His eyes fell to the floor awkwardly before he snorted in annoyance." You can take the couch. I'll see you in a few hours. Don't do anything fishy or stupid."

"I'll try not to." Kiba replied sarcastically before he could stop himself. With that he older left him to finish up. After fixing his jacket the best he could, he left the bathroom. Kankuro were nowhere in sight. He moved over to the couch where he noticed a thin blanket waiting for him.

"Akamaru." He called out softly and the said dog came directly jumping up on the soft furniture. After removing his jacket, sandals, and put his forehead-protector on the table, Kiba used his normal routine and used his beloved comrade as a pillow. Akamaru let out a content sigh and his breathing became heavier. "Good boy Akamaru. We will probably return home to Konoha tomorrow." Kiba whispered and gratefully let sleep claim him.

Kankuro woke with a startle. Something was wrong. Something was amiss in his normally day. He then recalled the night before. He was not alone in his flat. The clock showed 8 a clock. An hour later then he normally woke up. Kankuro left the double bed and started to get dressed. After fixing his face paint he moved out into the living room, not sure he would like what he found.  
He had nothing to worry about; Kiba was fast asleep, looking rather comfortable with his face buried in the white fur of his dog. Kankuro found himself smile a little before a low growl took his attention. The mutt was looking at him I suspicion.

"Still not trusting me?" he whispered and snorted. "whatever." He left the duo and moved to the kitchen.

Kiba had of course woken up by the vibrations in Akamaru's stomach, caused by the growl. But he didn't show it. He felt Kankuro moved away and couldn't help wondering what the puppet-master had done to cause such reaction from his dog. "Akamaru… what's going on with you?" he whispered, listening to Kankuro's movement in the kitchen area. His white companion whined a little but didn't comment further.  
A minute later, Akamaru and Kiba joined Kankuro in the kitchen. "Hope you got at least a little sleep." Kiba commented instead of good morning. After all, he was the reason the older was up so late.

"Hn," was all he got as reply

"We'll be out of your hair in a minute." The canine handler said and was going to go back to his things when Kankuro broke the silence.

"I thought I made myself clear. I'll take you to Gaara. You cannot leave my sight until then." Kankuro turned to him. "However Gaara is probably drowning in paperwork right now so we have an hour to kill. How are you feeling?"

Kiba stretched as if to check. "Fine." It was true. He felt his chakra had been restored during the rest. It felt good to get rid of the tiredness. "So how about we eat out? Let me treat you as a thank you for the hospitality."

The Suna looked at him. He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't have much food in the fridge. "Fine." He said as to copy Kiba's earlier answer.

* * *

Soon they were walking the streets of Suna. The village was already alive and quite crowded. Kiba couldn't help but see a slight difference between this village and his own. There was a kind of stress hanging in the air here. Kiba wiped himself under the eye. "Sheesh it's already this hot?"

"This is nothing. Wait until lunch time." Kankuro said nonchalantly.

"No thanks, hopefully we will be on our way until then."

Kankuro didn't answer that. He ignored the unknown feeling in his stomach. He figured it was a surprise that the kid would leave so soon. Luckily he didn't have to linger in the awkward silence long. "This is it, best breakfast place in the village if you ask me."

Kiba grinned, glad to be able to sit down. "Then I'll take your word for it." He turned to his comrade. He doubted that it was other rules here than home. "See you in a bit, boy. I'll bring you something good. Stay close ok."

"Arf!"

Kankuro watched the dog disappear in the crowd. Some people took a little jump to the side by the sight of the animal. "Are you sure you should let him run around on his own?"

"Relax, Akamaru is not a pet. He can take care of himself and behaves very well. He probably just going to look for some shade."

The duo sat down by the counter and ordered some tea and ramen, which Kiba paid for with his last yen.

"So… how is the progress here? Your sister were in Konoha helping with the Chunin exam. I know obviously Gaara made it to Kazekage.' But what about the rest of you who didn't come?" Kiba asked as he split the chop-sticks. "Most of us have advanced to Chunin."

"I'm Jonin now."

The Inuzuka almost choke on his noodles and had to cough to regain some air. "R-really!?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Well…" Kiba let out a laugh. "Didn't think you were so far ahead…"

Kankuro's eyebrow twitched and took hold of his cup to keep calm. "You want me to prove it? I wipe the ground with you Chunin ass any day." That's right, giving a good threat would be enough to shut the other up. It was his daily tactic to get people off his back.

"I'll take you on any time, doll-boy."

It was Kankuro's time to choke on his drink. Even the staff seemed to flinch by the statement. Kiba couldn't help but to wonder why.

"You got some nerve mutt. I'll give you that." Kankuro forced out, hammering his chest with his fist.

"It's not wise to underestimate us Konoha ninjas. Naruto has already left the village to train with one of the legendary Sannin." He didn't know why he used his own rival in an argument of Konoha's strength. But it was probably because Gaara had acknowledged Naruto as a strong force to be reckon with. So as painful as it was to bring up the blond goof, he was a good example.

"Really?"

Kiba held back a "tch." as Kankuro seemed very interested. "Yes. The bastard plan on getting even stronger." Kiba snorted.

"Aren't you friends?"

"He is alright. I admit he has surprised us all. His skills have climbed sky high in a very short amount of time. Not to mention his stubbornness and determination. But the fact remains; he is noisy, stupid, naïve, and so full of himself."

"Not to forget highly annoying."

Kiba looked up at the other surprised and then they both let out a malicious laugh. Kiba noticed again that the staff looked at them oddly. Something made him want to eat up quickly.

"So what about you?"

"What?" The Inuzuka asked, looking up from the bowl.

"What's your story? Why did you become a ninja?"

"…" Before Kiba had any chance to figure out why Kankuro suddenly wanted to actually know anything about him, his comrade's call made his body jump and he was alert and focused in a heartbeat. "Akamaru!"

Kankuro also looked at the door, completely taken off guard. He noticed Kiba left the chair and ran outside, causing him to follow. "Oi! Wait up!"

Kiba came out on the street and looked around for his distressed dog. A commotion was forming down the street, making the best bet. He started to run, but the crowded street was making it difficult to come through. He found a wooden box and used it as a leverage; jumping high into the air, making an air-flip over a group of people before landing on his feet. What he saw was making his blood boil.  
Akamaru was in the middle of a ring of Sand Shinobis. His head was stuck in a metal wire-snare that was attached to a wooden staff and two ninjas trying to keep him from running or attack. Akamaru's tail was between the legs and because of his white fur it was easy to see a little blood around his neck where the snare was binding him tight.

Kiba let out a roar and attacked from behind; he jumped up on the back of closest shinobi, flipped over him and rolled on the gravel. As he came back up on his feet, his claws were out already glowing with his chakra. With an attack with glowing hand he broke the wooden staff, causing the two ninjas holding the tool fall on their asses. Kiba and Akamaru regrouped and faced the remaining guards who were approaching them.

"You bastards… you'll pay for that." Kiba growled, his eyes sharp and wild revealing the hate he felt of those who dare hurt his beloved comrade.

"Konoha ninja. You are under arrest. Back down now and we won't get serious and hurt you." One of the men said. He seemed quite familiar but Kiba couldn't place him in his condition. "What the fuck are you talking about!"

"Step down now!"

"What are the charges?"

"Arrest him." The tall man said. Kiba spun around, getting the first ninja with his elbow to the gut. "I said: what are the charges!" Akamaru tackled another ninja from Kiba rear. This was starting to get bad. The men attacked without hesitation. He had only one choice, get more ground. However it didn't go as he planned. An arm found itself around his throat from behind and his source to air was almost completely cut off.

"What the fuck is going on here!" Kankuro seemed to have time to show up, finally.

Kiba managed to pull hard enough on the elbow to get some more air, but he didn't do anything else as the ninja held a kunai next to his head. He decided to trust Kankuro get this situation under control so he gave the growling Akamaru a quick hand-sign to stay put.  
The tall man that had given the order of Kiba's arrest turned to Kankuro. "Kankuro-sama. What are your concern?"

"This guy is on a mission from Konoha, Baki. To deliver a message to our Kazekage."

"I'm afraid you are mistaken. This is a suspect spy. He and this creature checked in at the main gate late last night. But never showed up at the inn as he was instructed to. That give us a window of nine hours we don't know what he's been doing here. So we are taking him in for questioning. To make sure he is not here to sabotage the village or gathers other information to Konoha."

"It won't be necessary. He have been with me the whole time. I take it from here and get him to Gaara right away."

"Are you not listening to this?" Kiba whispered to the shinobi holding him." Let me go." Feeling the arm loosen a bit of hesitation he took the chance and pushed himself out of the hold. He didn't do anything more drastic though, the guards around him were still on high alert. He couldn't help feeling a little anxious. Not of these guards, but of the future wrath he was going to get from his own Hokage. The Lady would probably skin him for this. And if there would be anything left of him after, then his mom would gladly take care of that. It made him kind of bitter, cause what he was charge with was not entire his fault.

"I'm afraid that is not possible, Kankuro. You don't have the clearance to take over this. Your Junin status and title as Gaara's right hand is yet to be registered. No, he will be taken to the ANBU office first for questioning."

Kankuro crossed his arms defiantly. "A mere formality. The papers will be signed in no time."

"Even so." Baki smiled almost in sympathy. "Rules are meant to be followed. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah, I sure understand." He said and grabbed hold of Kiba's elbow and started to drag him along. "I understand you need to show your authority among the men Baki, but I promise you. They respect you despite of this."

"Oi! Kankuro! Wait!" Baki called out, but Kankuro ignored him. He even heard the soldiers ask their leader if they should do something. But he knew his former mentor wouldn't allow them to do anything. With steady steps he continued to drag Kiba along with an iron grip, people almost jumped out of their way. Kiba threw a quick glance backwards, making sure Akamaru was following them before turning back at Kankuro. "I thought you would solve this, what are you doing?"

"Cleaning up this mess. Better get you to Gaara before you get yourself into more trouble."

Kiba tried to pull his arm away so he could walk by himself, but Kankuro kept the grip firm. "I'm not the one started this. They attacked Akamaru. Because he and I wasn't found at the Inn. You shouldn't have brought us home with you Kankuro!"

"Oh, that's the gratitude of the year. Maybe you prefer to go with Baki and put in the interrogation chair?"

"You know damn well I'm grateful. But you did not have authority to take us in. And now I'm in trouble with the Kazekage. And probably at home as well." He held back a hiss as the grip on his arm was starting to bruise. "You are starting to make it a habit to push me around."

"I will fix this with Gaara. It's just a misunderstanding. That does not mean I'm letting you out of my sight yet."

* * *

They entered the Kazekage building, leaving Akamaru outside, and started to climb the stairs to the office levels. "And you shouldn't have left me at the dinner place either!"

Kiba stopped and tried to twist himself lose. "I had to protect Akamaru. He was distressed as hell. They treated him like a wild animal." When Kankuro couldn't hold the arm with such struggle he changed stance and pushed Kiba up against the wall instead, pinning him there. "But you are wild aren't you? How else are they supposed to treat you? That dog is abnormal in size and has a very unstable temper. And you like to rip people's faces off. How can we not handle you like animals?"

There was something softening in Kiba's eyes as he looked into Kankuro's brown ones. "You said you understood the circumstances around that. And if that is how you really feel about us, then why didn't you hand us over to the guards?"

"…." Kankuro didn't answer. Why did he help the kid? He had specifically told him to stay close and even so Kiba had run off and got himself into trouble. But he knew he too was to blame. He didn't want to drop Kiba off at the inn. He wanted him… close so he could keep a watching eye over him. He wasn't just sure why.  
Running steps caught up with them and Baki halted at their side. "Don't ever do a thing like that again!" he growled with authority and glared at the duo. Kiba took a better look at the man. He was very tall. Two face-tattoos not very unfamiliar with his own were shown on his right cheek. The left side of his face was being covered by a sheet hanging from his turban-like head gear. "Seriously Kankuro, you have never defied me like that in front of the men. I know you have been under stress and pressure lately but that kind of behavior is not acceptable." Baki cast a hard glance at Kiba. "Who is this fellow anyway?"

"I met him in Konoha a couple of years ago. We have a history." Kankuro explained simple.

"Oh, you did? That doesn't really matter. He is supposed to follow the rules and not being hidden by you from the authorities. Now, there is that dog outside, unsupervised."

"Akamaru know he is supposed to wait for me." Kiba put in. "He wait outside the Hokage-building all the time."

"I don't recall asking you anything, foreigner."

"Enough of this Baki." Kankuro said quite harshly. "Let's get this over with." Kiba felt himself being pushed ahead by Kankuro arms, almost like he was shielded from Baki.

Kankuro didn't bother to knock, much to Baki's curses. The trio entered the office only to find it already in use.

Gaara office was not like Tsunade's, Kiba noted. The room was much bigger and it was empty except of an oval table big enough for ten people. The redhead was dressed quite informal for a Kazekage title. But the paper-job on the table surface was very recognizable. Standing in front of the table, was a tall blond woman. Her hair was tied up in four pig-tails. And on her back was a huge metal fan attached. Kiba recognized the kunoichi as Kankuro and Gaara's sister. The blonde turned with her green harsh eyes at them. "Kankuro, what is the deal?"

"Gaara, give me the authority already. I can hardly do anything out there. It only cause trouble."

Kiba held back a snort. In his opinion, kankuro had contributed to the mess as well.

Gaara calmly held up a piece of paper with his sigil on it. "Already done, Kankuro. What is this about?"

Baki took the chance to approach them. "We have a guest from Konoha, Kazekage-sama. A guest who disappeared on us right after his arrival last night. Turns out he had been spending the night at you brother's place without authorization."

Kiba stayed in the background. But he could feel Temari eyes on him from the side-line. He decided not to meet her eye.

"He wouldn't have stayed at my place if the guard had escorted him right from the start." Kankuro argued.

"So you are saying he was lost?" Gaara asked.

"Attacked more correctly. By one of the drunken gangs in town. I brought him home and patched him up. We have a peace-treaty with Konoha after all."

"We do, yes. But why would you personally care about that? He could have reported it himself at the inn. Don't tell me you suddenly gotten yourself a friend?" Temari said carelessly.

"Temari. Don't speak like that. Kankuro did the right thing helping out. We do have peace with Konoha." Gaara said making his sister go quiet.

Gaara looked at Kiba for the first time. Kiba felt how those eyes were looking into his soul. He recalled the time at the Chunin exam years back. How he had hurt Lee. How he had attacked the village. That aura of hate… it seemed gone now. He seemed stable. And pure. Almost looked his age actually. "What is your purpose here, Konoha ninja?" the Kazekage asked.

Kiba found his voice for the first time and bowed once and deep. "I'm here with a message for you from our Hokage, Lady Tsunade. We all in Konoha congratulation you with your new title as Suna's leader and I also brought a message for you."

Gaara nodded. "Gratitude. You may step forward."

Kiba pulled out a little scroll from his leg holster and pulled it out between his hands. It was filled with Jutsu-markings for summoning. Baki put out an arm in front of him, wanting to take a look at the scroll first.

"It's fine Baki. I trust him. Approach the table, please." Gaara said.

Kiba did as told; put the scroll on the surface, bit the edge of his thumb to mark the symbol, made a few hand-signs and then summoned another larger scroll with Lady Tsunadés sigil on it." There you go, Kazekage-sama. May I send one of your eagles to my Hokage, telling her that my mission is complete and that I will return as soon as possible?

Kankuro couldn't help but to glare at Baki and Temari, silently blaming them for Kiba's discomfort.

"You may send an eagle. But I would like to have you stay here until afternoon. If there is something in here that I need to answer Lady Tsunade, then I can send it back with you."

Kiba hesitated. But who was he to deny Gaara's wishes." I can stay, Kazekage-sama. I need to attend to my dog injuries anyway."

"His dog might have been mistreated when we were going to arrest them, Kazekage-sama." Baki actually admitted, much to Kiba's surprise.

This made Gaara recall the incidents. "I'm sorry for what happened to you when you arrived. Is there anything we can help you with?"

"No, it's fine. It's not that bad. Just shallow wounds on Akamaru. I can fix that in no time."

"And your own injuries? From the gang?" Gaara pressed.

Kiba smiled. "Your brother took care of them just fine. I thank him for his fine hospitality." Again he saw how Temari looked between him and her brother. It was not a different glance than from the staff at the diner. Curious and a little baffled.

Gaara started to look through his papers and chose one to read. "The night report says it was much disturbance but not anything about fights." He turned to his former mentor. "Baki, I want extra patrols on the street during the nights. Keep those gangs in check so no more people get hurt." Gaara ordered.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama." Baki bowed respectfully.

"So then. I know my sister here always has an escort when she is in Konoha. Nara Shikamaru something? Temari turned her head away as he asked her. He relented and turned back at Kiba. "Anyway, I would have you have the same hospitality. We are appointing you a guide."

"Well, I'm very busy. I'm going to train the girls." Temari said and shrugged before turning to Kankuro. "How about it brother? You already seem to have taken a liking to him."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kankuro growled at his sister who was taking her leave. "Nothing, just thought it would be practical. He already had seen more sides of you than the rest of anyone here." Kankuro glared at the door as it closed shut after her. And he turned to Gaara only to be met with a strict eye. "well?"

"Well what?"

"You will take the job as his guide?" Gaara looked at the brunette. "What was your name again?"

"Inuzuka Kiba, Kazekage-sama." Kiba said politely but twitched an eyebrow. Someone as strong as Gaara didn't know his name. But Naruto was easy to remember….that bastard was such a star. Made him want to scream.

"Right." Gaara looked at Kankuro a third time. "Well Kankuro?"

Kankuro didn't say anything and the silence fell over the office. As Kiba noticed that Kankuro's closed fist was shaking, he decided to do something. "I'm grateful for the offer, but I'm fine on my own."

Gaara looked intensively at Kankuro. "Inuzuka Kiba. Please leave us. The eagles are one level above us. The staff will assist you. Then wait outside to your appointed guide. I will summon you later when given time."

Kiba bowed and started to leave, not sure Kankuro even noticed. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach as he climbed the stairs to the eagle area. Was kankuro that mad of being stuck with him? Sure, the Inuzuka knew it wasn't always quiet around him. Hell, he almost always found trouble. But other than that, he wasn't so bad company. Akamaru never complained. He let out a little sigh. He didn't come here to cause any trouble. He had actually hoped he would be able to see Kankuro. They had saved each other during important adventures. Kankuro was the only Shinobi from Suna he had any kind of contact with. Too see Kankuro react like this, was very disappointing.

* * *

"What do you want to send?" A staff-member at the Eagle tower asked. He sat with the smallest pencil and a piece of parchment.

"Mission complete. Waiting for instructions from Kazekage." Kiba said trying to keep it formal and short. They guy laughed. "Thank you. Other guests that come here always want to send a longer letter. Like what they had for breakfast and however. It too much paper to carry for the eagles!"

Kiba joined him. "Glad to be able to help you a bit. Well it's short enough to describe the weather. HOT!"

"I can fit that into the message if you like?" The guy laughed.

"No, it's fine, thank you. So this note will reach Konoha in three days?"

The man shook his head. "One day. You're thinking about the route that you are using. To fly saves a lot of time and Suna's eagles are the fastest there is."  
Another man joined them with a big, brown eagle. It stretched its long wings once and then shook his head, obviously just awaken. Kiba noticed the lack of letter bag on its back. The pigeons in Konoha always carried bags. The man noticed his searching. "I know what you are thinking. But we don't use bags anymore. It's too easy for the enemies to see the bird is carrying a message and it makes itself a target. Also, we noticed that a bag works on smaller birds, but on these eagles, the bag turned out be both uncomfortable and a hindrance of movement. Therefore we put the note inside the metal ring on its leg."

"That's impressive." Kiba watched how the first guy finished his note and attached it on the Eagles leg as the other guy held the bird steady. After that the Eagle was carried to the window. "Konoha." The guy said simple and with that the Eagle threw itself out letting the air fill its wings and the bird was turning into a black dot in seconds.

* * *

About 45 minutes later, Kiba was sitting with Akamaru on the stairs to the Main building. He had removed what was left of the snare and was now cleaning the small wound. The bleeding seemed to have stopped some time ago, and was going to heal up nicely. "Good boy. This is not our favorite mission is it? The Suna people sure are strange ones…" he murmured so only his comrade heard. As Akamaru seemed to agree with him, something hit him:

"That's right, what do you have against Kankuro? You act so defensive towards him."

"arrr, Arf!"

"Yes, he has an attitude, but I'm sure he can be trusted. He helped us didn't he?"

"Arf arf!"

"Something fishy going on? What is?"

"arrrr arf."

"You just moody in this climate." Kiba stated snickering at his comrade following growl. They sat there a few minutes more wrestling a little before they got company.

"Are you ready to go?" a sudden voice behind them said, causing Kiba to look up at Kankuro. "I'm waiting for that guide, remember?" he replied dryly.

"You are looking at him."

Kiba held a hand over Akamaru's nose to keep the growl from coming out. "Really?" He followed Kankuro with his eyes as the other walked around him and stood in front of the duo instead.

"Look um…what happened up there. It wasn't you…" He started but then looked away for a moment.

Kiba tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"It was my sister who got me worked up ok? she…"He tried to find the right words." We…don't get along much…right now. She…she tend to put her nose into my business."

The Inuzuka smiled a little. He often saw Kankuro angry, but this was more 'harmless annoyed.' "Isn't that what she is supposed to do?"

"What makes you think that?" Kankuro glared, not liking the thought of Kiba making fun of him.

"I have my own experience of it." Kiba said and scratched Akamaru under the chin. "I also have a big Sister."

Kankuro lost what to say as he didn't expect that. Then he remembered; he hardly knew anything about Kiba. That was what he had tried to find out before all this mess. At the restaurant; it all had gone so great. He had started to think he could actually have…his own friend.  
He watched Kiba intensively. The guy may be a trouble-magnet but he was also interesting. Not as weak as he first had thought. It was easy to put all Konoha ninjas in the loser-file, but Kiba had changed his mind. And now… he really wanted to know more. He just needed to figure out how to do this.  
His eyes fell on the dog, who still watched him in the corner of the eye. He decided to try something he never would otherwise.  
Kankuro got down on one knee. "You know what Akamaru? After your morning, how about let me find you a good steak?"

Akamaru eyes got huge and before Kiba knew it, the dog left his master's arms and ran a lap around Kankuro, barking loudly and then started to run down the street towards the market. Kankuro watched that waiving tail in the distance. "I'll take that as a yes?"

Kiba laughed at his comrade cheap soul. "That was absolutely a yes."

Kankuro stayed true to his word. Akamaru was happily chugging down a huge piece of meat in the shade of an ally. Kankuro and Kiba joined him with a cold drink each. Kiba's eyebrow twitched at Akamaru's claws holding the meat, while his teeth were aggressively pulling at it. "Seriously Akamaru, how about a little manners?"

"it's fine, let the beast eat. The people are already scared of him so it's not like it make any difference." Kankuro said as he leaned against the wall watching the dog in amusement. "How could he get so big by the way?"

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked distantly.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "You are kidding, right? He is at least three times bigger than before."

Kiba just shrugged and drank more of his can. Then he noticed three guards walking pass them, giving him a hateful stare. "It doesn't seem we are very popular after our stunt."

Kankuro snorted. "Just ignore them. It will pass."

Kiba looked over at Kankuro who seemed to be in deep thought. "So what happened at the office? Gaara gave you a hard time?"

"Nah, he just threatened to crush me in his sand if I didn't pull my shit together."

Kiba just looked at him with wide eyes, causing the puppet-master to roll his eyes. "He was kidding! Actually no, he said he really would, because that would be the first fun thing he gets to do since becoming Kazekage. But he didn't mean it. Believe it or not we are also family."

"Damn, that is some scary humor." Kiba yelled out and jumped to the side as Akamaru went for the bowl with water and almost tipped it over his sandals. "For the love of…! Akamaru!" The dog simply barked at him in delight.

"Don't say you are the boring-fun type." Kankuro smirked. "Always living safe, never be a little bold."

Kiba grinned at the topic, his eyes glimmering in interest. "You know full well I'm not. What do you have in mind?"

The puppet-master grinned and tipped his head as if to ask them to follow. Kiba and Akamaru only look at each other once before following.

* * *

Kankuro knew he shouldn't do this. But it was too damn fun not too. And the bitch deserved it. He looked over to Kiba who also crawled over until he was able to watch down on the training yard from their current roof-top. "Where is the mutt?"

"Swelling up at the bottom of this house. Why are we here?" Kiba asked back, then froze. "No. no, I'm not picking a fight with your sister. I'm in deep trouble as it is."

"This is nothing. Just for fun. Won't be any consequences." Kankuro reassured him. The puppet master turned his excited gaze to his sister. The Kunoichi was playing slave driver with her two students, Matsuri and Yukata.

"I recall Shikamaru said you sister is very troublesome."

"You mean that lazy guy who thinks all things are troublesome?"

"… Point taken." Kiba admitted. He checked the open terrain. It was a simple court yard. A few shuriken and kunai was spread out on the ground. And a few wooden poles were for target practice. "So what are you thinking?"

"Just watch and learn."

Temari was standing on the training field, looking like she had eaten barbed wire. Her green eyes were not amused as she studied her two pupils.  
The two girls were standing by the wooden poles with a kunai each. But the girls seemed to giggle and whispering more than actually concentrating.  
"Enough! How about throwing today while the sun is still up or do I need to motivate you?!"

The girls made a small jump in fright, obviously hit with a less enjoyable flashback of Temari's kind of 'motivation'. "N-no need Temari-san! It's just…there is a new guy that have moved in the house next to Yukata and he is so cute!" Matsuri said with a blushing and dreamy face. The black haired friend nodded excitedly in agreement. "Yes! I saw him move in with his family two days ago. My mom welcomed his mom and I'm sure he saw me in the window!"  
Temari rolled her eyes as the two girls gave out a high pitch scream of excitement. The blonde Jonin took her fan and stomped it to the ground causing the girls to shut up and stood up straight. "Boys and boys and boys! That's all I hear from the two of you. If you really want to impress a man, then focus on becoming the strongest you can be!

"Y-es Temari-san!" both girls answered in union.

"Listen carefully. I don't know what cause you to think about love and romance 24 hours a day. But a real woman learns to rely on her own ability and not on a man! You two have shown me potential to become really good ninjas, and I be damned if any of **my** students settle to become nothing better than a damsel in distress! Am I making myself clear?!"

"YES TEMARI-SAN!"

"GET TO WORK!"

"My mom would love her." Kiba whispered causing Kankuro to elbow him in the side. Then with a twist of his hand, Kiba would be able to see small chakra strings from two of Kankuro's fingers. He aimed at the girls and his fingers were moving like he was trying to hypnotize them from afar.  
Matsuri was just going to throw one of her kunai's at the wooden target when Kankuro yanked his hand backwards. The girl gasped as her weapon left her hand in the opposite direction and she turned to her master. "Temari-san!"

The blond Jonin stood still, the only thing moving was her twitching eyebrow as she was trying to control her temper. The kunai was stuck in the stonewall behind her but before getting stuck there, it had graced one of Temari's pig-tails, causing a few of her strands to fall on the ground. "what…was…that…?"  
she asked with dangerously low tone.

"I-I'm s-sorry! F-orgive me, I don't k-know what h-appened!"

Temari turned to the other girl. "Yukata! What are you waiting for! Throw!"

"Y-yes!" Yukata aimed carefully determined to hit the small marking on the wooden surface. But Kankuro was quicker. With a yelp, the girl's foot went out the side and she fell over letting the kunai flip in the air before landing in the sand next to her. Matsuri was quickly by her friend's side. "Yukata-chan! Are you ok?"  
she bent down to help the girl up, but was taken by surprise when her friend threw out her arm at Matsuri's legs, tripped her over instead. "What are you doing!"

"I don't know!"

"What the hell are you doing!" Temari was seriously losing her patience.

Both girls shared a determined look before getting to their feet. With a cry both girls threw two kunai each, all hitting their targets. "We did it!" Matsuri cheered.  
But the celebrations was short. The kunai's left the pole and started to float towards them. "Impossible!" the girls yelled.

Kiba was covering his mouth not to laugh out loud. He was having the time of his life here. Kankuro seemed to enjoy himself too, working his hands around to scare the girls. Not to make it too obvious to his sister, he let the weapons drop to the ground, snickering with Kiba as Temari's voice echoed through the entire part of the village. "YOU DIDN'T THROW HARD ENOUGH!"

"B-but…!"

"Do it again!"

Kankuro dug into his pocket and took out a small mirror shard and handed it to Kiba. "is that for your make-up?" Kiba snickered but shut up as Kankuro pressed his head down on the roof surface. If it wasn't for his forehead-protector, it would have hurt. "Very funny, every guard use it to talk to each other with code on the great wall. Now are you going to help or not?"

"Touchy subject I see." Kiba murmured but did as told. He crawled a bit forward and used the sun to have some more fun.

"Taijutsu! Go!" Temari yelled.

The girls threw themselves at each other ducking from every punch the other delivered. Matsuri tried a sweep with her leg but Yukata jumped over and threw out her own leg. Matsuri caught the leg and was going throw her opponent away when a sudden reflection from the sun got in her eyes. She gasped and put her hand up to protect her sight. Then without any reason at all, her feet was yanked off the ground, causing both girls fall on their backs.

Kiba felt how tears were forming in the corner of his eyes by laughter. The sight of these clueless girls was hilarious. He heard Kankuro murmurs: "Oh no you don't." and right after Yukata fell over once more after trying to get up. A new fit of quiet laughter overcame them on the roof. Kiba didn't even realize he rested his head on Kankuro's shoulder as he almost tipped over.  
Kankuro felt something by the touch, taking his focus from what he was doing. This felt nice. Still grinning like a madman, he received the mirror back from Kiba's shaking hand who were still snickering by the girls panic.  
As he was going to put the mirror away he failed to notice that he sent down another reflection.

"What the hell is wrong with you two." Temari halted her yelling as she picked up a very unnatural gleam of light. Her green eyes rose up at the roof and she 'saw red' as she put two and two together. "That bastard…!"

"You want to leave?" Kankuro whispered but before Kiba could answer a huge force of wind surprised them both.

"Seem like a good idea, yeah." Kiba admitted and looked up over the edge, only to be pulled down by Kankuro as another wind hit the edge. "stay down." The puppet-master advised and they waited: both flat on the roof to avoid the attacks.

"Damn you, kankuro! How dare you sabotage my lessons!?" Temari screamed and a third wind whoop past them. "Just stay down. She won't risk damage to this building." Kankuro said confidently. Kiba nodded but made a grimace as the stone next to his head was cut into two pieces by the fourth wind attack. "On the other hand…" Kankuro corrected himself and together they started to retreat. When they were far enough away from the edge, both got to their feet and started to run.  
Kankuro picked up the sound of the girls calling out their teacher's name which told him that Temari was in pursuit. "Holy shit!"

"What?" Kiba asked, but he got his answer from the females scent behind them. "oh c'mon!" he looked at his partner in crime as they jumped over to another rooftop. "What should we do? Going from building to building until we reach Gaara's office?"

"No, she expects that. And to be honest, he would not take my side in this." Kankuro saw another gap in front of them. "We need to change strategy, let's go."  
Without waiting for a replay, his arm wrapped around Kiba and pulled the surprised ninja close before diving into the ally. Then in midair, he let his strings of chakra grab hold of the roof-edge, causing them both to swing down on the ground soundlessly. Kankuro was impressed, Kiba may have been surprised by the stunt but not a sound came from the Inuzuka otherwise.  
A wind through the streets revealed Temari was close, obviously taking a short cut to the Main building. It was Kankuro's turn to be surprised as Kiba suddenly got hold of him and pressed the puppet-master against the wall in the darkest corner so they wouldn't be seen from the entrance. The Jonin knew it was because they both needed to be covered by the darkness and even so he felt stunned with Kiba pressed against him. Kankuro accidently took in the brunette's scent. Kiba smelled like a mix between forest and meat. A very nice combination he realized. He barely even notice his sister running passed the ally in a hurry, only that he felt a bit colder when Kiba backed away from his body, giving him more room to move.

"I think it's clear." Kiba whispered before looking at Kankuro with a mischievous grin. "to think a guy like you know to have fun after all…"

Kankuro smiled back, finding Kiba's amusement contagious. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Arrrr arf arf!" Both ninja's turned at Akamaru who was making himself known from the entrance. The dog seemed to watch them skeptically.

Kiba looked at his comrade in confusion "What?"

The dog simply turned away with a small sound, causing Kiba to call out after him. "Oi! What do you mean?"

"What did he say?"

"He said; _something fishy_ "

 **TBC.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

" **Talking"**

' _ **Thinking'**_

 _ **(Time-jump)**_

Kankuro unlocked his apartment and entered with Kiba and Akamaru behind him. They had picked up a bit of groceries that Kankuro had insisted on paying to make up for the fight at the office and adventure with his sister. Kiba had agreed just to end the argument. He was grateful for the company.

The Inuzuka kept glancing at Akamaru as the dog walked over and lay down in front of the sofa. His comrade was not being moody but clearly something was on Akamaru's mind. He couldn't help wondering why the dog thought Kankuro as a suspect of something. Normally he trusted Akamaru without doubt. His partner was able to detect the enemies' chakra and strength which was crucial during their precious battles. But now…Kiba's gut told him he didn't want to treat the puppet master with mistrust. Not until he had a real reason to.

"I hope Gaara will be in contact soon. It's getting late." The brunette said as he followed Kankuro to the kitchen corner, helping out to hand out the food products of his bag. "It shouldn't take long now. I will accompany you to the border. Might as well use the time and train a bit and there is an area perfect for that not far off."

"That sounds great." Kiba couldn't help wondering. "Is it also because you want to avoid your sister."

"More like avoid her fan." Kankuro snickered.

"She seems quite temperamental. My big sister is fond of raising me alongside mom, but she just pulling my ear at most when we argue. She is a Vet and a very calm nature for being an Inuzuka. Mom said it's after our dad."

"He is not around?" Kankuro asked with hesitation.

"Mom drove him away when I was 6." The brunette smiled big. "Her temperament makes Temari seem soft."

"Hn. Hopefully they won't meet and join forces."

"Agreed! So how about your parents?"

Kankuro went quiet for a second. He never talked about his family with anyone. But for some reason, he felt he could talk with Kiba. The kid didn't seem noisy and shared a fair part too. It was equal exchange of information. "Both dead…"

Kiba knew there was that possibility and was going to leave the subject, when the puppet master continued unexpectedly. "Our father, Rasa, was the fourth Kazekage. He was killed by Orochimaru before the Chunin exam. And our mother Karura, died giving birth to Gaara."

"The Chunin exam…" Kiba thought out loud and he recalled the damaged that was done to the village.

"Did…you lose anyone in that incident?" Kankuro asked stiffly. It was an awkward conversation to say at least. His village trying to destroy Kiba's village was not the best topic when to bond.

"No, I was lucky. And I missed most part of it. My teammate Hinata collapsed before Gaara's match. She received help from a guy we thought was a Konoha ANBU. Turned out, he was an enemy in disguise. He ambushed me because Akamaru identified him. And at the same time, ninjas from the hidden cloud village, who had come to Konoha as spectators for the exams saw an opportunity to kidnap Hinata and bring the Hyuuga clan's powerful bloodline out of the village. So me, Tenten and Neji left the village and managed to save her. When we came back, most of the damage was already done."

"Of course I like to say that those damn cloud ninjas were scum for pulling a stunt like that, but I guess I would be a hypocrite." Kankuro said as he leaned against the kitchen bench.  
Kiba shook his head. "Look, this is really bad subject. And our villages managed to solve this peace treaty. Personally I think you had your fair share of hurting on your end. I agree with Naruto when he blames that Orochimaru-bastard. To believe one of the legendary Sannin to go rogue like that…He seems to have been involved in most tragedies concerning Konoha. Anyway…you guys came to our rescue at the Sasuke-mission. We have been good after that, and the bond just gets stronger."

"That's very generous attitude to see it like that."

"Well, our ninja world is cruel and messy. Not everything is black and white. If there is something I've learned is that everyone is hurting somehow."

Kankuro's stare fell to the floor. "Yeah… that's about right." The silence where instant but at the same time comfortable. Kankuro realized that Kiba and him was on the same page. Who would have thought they would get along like this? A sudden knock on the door bought them back to reality and the puppet-master went to open it. A Chunin was waiting on the other side and bowed respectfully at him. "Kankuro-sama, I have a message for our Konoha guest from Kazekage-sama. Is he present?"

"Yes, I'll take it. Thank you." Kankuro accepted the note and closed the door as the ninja left. Kiba approached him and accepted the note. Kankuro read the Inuzuka's face. "Something wrong?"

"That's strange. Your brother wants me to stay in Suna over the night. Says here he will summon me tomorrow."

"He probably want to send something to Konoha with you, but don't have the time to do it today. He is very busy right now." Kankuro moved away and walked over to the closet. He pulled out a spare blanket and a pillow. "Since you are obviously are staying, you can take the couch again."

"Then I can make the dinner." Kiba offered.

"Only if I get to decide what to do after."

Kiba raised an eyebrow, ignoring Akamaru's low growl by the couch. "What do you have in mind?"

* * *

"You are such a cheater!"

Kiba laughed and picked up the cards Kankuro threw on the bedsheet. "nah, you are just a sore loser."

After dinner Kankuro had brought a bottle of Sake from the kitchen. They were now sitting on Kankuro's double bed with a nightly view over the Suna streets nightlife. Kiba glanced around in the bedroom while mixing the deck of cards in his hands. It was quite big, and the best part was obviously the pent house view. But it was also relative empty. Like Kankuro didn't spend much time decorate it. No pictures or decorations on the walls and only one nightstand on Kankuro's side of the bed. It was a door that Kiba guessed was the closet. The Inuzuka couldn't help but wonder why there weren't any family photos.  
Kankuro took another shot of sake before he refilled the small cup. "Of course I am: that was your third win."

"I have to admit. When you said Sake, I expected a night out with your friends or something."

"Yah, like that would happen…"

"But this is great. Don't feel like getting into more trouble today."

Kankuro grinned. "No? Where is you adventurous side?" Kiba grinned back and handed out a new round of cards. "It's here! But getting on your sister's nerves again is more like death wish than adventurous. Oh, I forgot. Hm… personal question…" he couldn't help but laugh out loud as Kankuro emptied another shot of Sake.  
"How long have you been an alcoholic?"

"Shut up, it's not that bad. I like to have a few shots at night when I'm free. Even if you would have left I would serve this stuff tonight. What? Just because you are a softie with the liquor."

"I can drink when going out with the teams back home. We go to BBQ and hang out. But I don't drink when I'm alone." Kiba did however empty his shot and didn't complain when Kankuro was fast on refilling his cup as well. He didn't want to lose to the bastard. This round of cards however, Kankuro came out victorious. "Finally! Ok, so what are the rules again?"

"You decide on question or dare."

"Fine. Question: That girl you mentioned before. Hinata? Is she your girlfriend or what?"

"I had a crush on her back at the academy and when we first became a team. But then it turned out it was more of big-brother feelings I had. And I consider myself lucky for that, because the girl is obsessed with Naruto since who knows when."

"Really? What does she sees in that dope?"

"I have no Idea. Must be using her Byakugan to find something decent there…now, I'm going to kick your ass in this round." A few minutes after, Kankuro let out another groan of defeat. "That's the second time you have that hand!"

"No, it was slightly different. Don't throw the cards!"

Kankuro got off the bed and picked up two cards that had escaped his hand. They were spread out on the duo's abandoned shoes on the floor. As he got up again, he was taken off guard when Kiba suddenly yanked his black hood off his head. "Ha! You are a brunette! I always wondered!"

"You could have just asked." The puppet-master drew his fingers through his neck awkwardly, feeling quite naked. Kiba returned the hood but he decided to relax, putting the fabric on the end of the bed before rejoining the other. The moon was high in the sky now, giving a nice light into his bedroom. "You don't get a question now. That was a secret revealed."

"I take that secret with me to the grave." Kiba laughed. They took a good few shots more of sake, before Kankuro admitted defeat in cards. But it was okay, as they continued to talk heatedly between training and tactics. "Don't try and deny it. You may call them silly dolls but I know how impressed you were when I saved your ass against the crazy twins."

"I clearly remember that container, what's it called?"

"I have Karasu navigates the enemy into Kuroari's torso. Then I have Karasu stab them. It took me six months to learn how to enter all swords through the slots at the same time."

"That technique is brutal." Kiba commented.

"But very effective."

"Quit saying you saved my ass. I repaid the favor."

"As I recall you and the other guy was mostly in the way."

"We gave you a signal!"

"How should I know your signal!?"

Both laughed out loud at the memories. "Hopefully we would be a better team today." Kiba said and leaned back on his hands, looking at the moon view. "Gaara… I remember how he changed the landscape against that bad guy who kidnaped his student. Hey, was that the same girl who we teased earlier today?"

"Sure thing. Matsuri is training hard, but in my opinion she is too gentle and soft to be a ninja. But Temari has taken over her training since Gaara became Kazekage so it will probably be fine. Just as long I don't have to. I hate kids."

They both took another drink and continued to talk some more. It turned out the conversation just went on and on. And no one noticed how time passed until they fell asleep…

* * *

Kankuro groaned a little as something woke him up. The room was way too light, so he was sure he had overslept. The traces of sake made his head feel heavy. When was he going to learn? Other than that he felt fine. Well rested and relaxed. So what woke him up? He stretched out his arms and got startle as his left hand was met with resistance. That was not right. His bed was wide enough to stretch at any direction. He turned his head and eyes widened in shock. "Oh shit…"

Kiba was sound asleep next to him. The brunette lay on his side, facing Kankuro while hugging one of the pillows. He had removed his forehead protector at some time, making his brown locks almost cover his closed eyes. Kankuro thought Kiba looked even wilder without it. The puppet-master didn't know what to do. It felt wrong to wake the other up and order him to go to the couch…and it felt awkward to just go back to sleep. What if Kiba woke up and threw a fit?  
Kankuro reached out his hand again, conflicted on what to do. The Inuzuka looked to be totally out. Then he was interrupted at the sound of the door. That must have been what woke him up… With another groan he reluctantly got up from the bed and walked out to answer the door…

Kiba woke with a small startle as Akamaru licked him on the nose. "Akamaru? What's wrong?" He whispered and felt confused. His companion was standing on the bed he slept in but he didn't recognize the room. Then it hit him, he must have fallen asleep in Kankuro's bed. He looked over but the other wasn't there. Akamaru took his attention again, puffing his shoulder. "What is it boy?"  
Kiba followed the dog as he jumped off the bed and very silently approached the door. Then he understood what it was…he could hear voices in the hallway. Carefully he sneaked up to the door next to Akamaru and peeped out from the bedroom.

"Kankuro-sama, I ask you to reconsider." A ninja was standing in the doorway with a very concern face.

"I won't." Kankuro said firmly. Even though he could only see his back, Kiba could see how tense the Jonin was. "I'm not accepting another mission. I'm currently a guide to a guest from Konoha."

"I'm aware. That's why Kazekage-sama sent me. I will take over as guide for Inuzuka Kiba while you go…"

"Out of the question! You have my answer. Leave my apartment."

"Kankuro-sama, I'm following orders. If you have any complaints then take it up with your brother…"

"What is it you don't understand, Kiba is staying here. He was assigned to me. Last warning, leave now or this will get ugly!" Kankuro growled out and slammed the door in the other's face. Kiba crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe as Kankuro turned around.  
"What is going on?" he asked firmly and shook his head. "And don't tell me _nothing._ "

"Apparently Gaara appointed me on a stupid B rank mission."

"And why won't you go?"

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at the question and approached Kiba. "I'm here with you." he said simply.

"What? You think I'll get in trouble? They had another ninja assigned…"

"I don't want to hand this over to someone else!"

It was Kiba's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Why?" He almost tipped his balance as Kankuro pushed passed him and went back to bed and lay down.

"Kankuro?"

"Does it look like I want a conversation? Shut the fuck up, I have a headache." The Jonin said, resting his arm over his eyes to block the light out.

Kiba sat down on the edge of the bed. "That does happen when you drink too much." He didn't flinch as Kankuro sat up and glared at him a few inches of his own face. "What the fuck is your problem? If you want another guide then fine, leave."

"If it will keep you out of trouble then I will leave. I don't want you to miss out on a mission because of me." Kiba said and started to leave. However he was forced to a halt when Kankuro grabbed his arm. The Jonin ignored Akamaru who growled from the doorway.

"I don't need you to protect me, Inuzuka. I handle my own business with my brother, you don't need to do anything. You are here on a visit."

"But I can't just ignore it when you are acting this strange!"

"I don't."

"You are! It's like you don't want me to leave your sight."

"Fine! I don't! Are you happy!?"

The room fell into a heavy silence. They looked at each other either knew what to say. But in the end, Kankuro had to break the contact. "I don't have any friends." His hand let go of Kiba's arm but the Inuzuka didn't move away. He carefully sat down to show Kankuro had his attention as the puppet-master struggled with his words  
"Gaara know a whole life of solitude, hurt, and pain. But he changed his stars. What he didn't know was that he wasn't the only one carry that curse of alientation. Marked as Gaara's brother and sister was not easy when trying to get friends. Even to this day, people might be more open too Gaara. Damn, some people even care and look up to him now. Acknowledge him as both Kazekage and a person. But I'm still the same. Just cold and ruthless Kankuro of the Sand." The puppet-master shrugged. "It went alright for a while. Being a ninja doesn't give you enough time to focus on friends when there are missions to take care of. But now…you keep talking about your friends and the teams…going to BBQ and stuff. It tells me you find new friends all the time. So I…"

Kiba tilted his head to the side curiously. "You what? Thought I would forget about you if I got another guide or met another person in Suna?"

Kankuro let out a snarl and looked away; he hated to talk like this. He felt vulnerable and weak. Maybe Temari was right, feelings was for soft people. However the Jonin was startle as Kiba suddenly jabbed his fist into his shoulder quite hard. "What the hell are you doing?" He yelled, holding where it surely would leave a bruise.

"You are such an idiot." Kiba laughed. "I wouldn't just forget about you if I met another person. I'm not like that. I thought it was obvious that we were friends."

"It might be obvious when you have a lot of them. How should I know?"

"Well now you do. So don't worry about that. You are stuck with me puppet-freak." He grinned loving how a spark in Kankuro's eyes. "What did you call me, mutt!" the Jonin let out a growl as Kiba avoided his jab. "You heard me, doll-boy!"

"That's it!" Kankuro got hold of Kiba's neck and pulled the other down before the Inuzuka got time to run. He tried to pin Kiba's hands on the mattress but Kiba put up an equal fight. "I'm a close range-fighter." The younger grinned and swiftly put up his knee in Kankuro's rib, getting him off balance. But Kankuro was fast and on top of him once more. "See if that's helping you if I strangle you, cur!"

" Haha,you are feisty when you have a hang-over!"

"I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face." Kiba let out a yelp as one of the pillows was pressed over his face. "Let see you roll out of this one…son of a bitch!" the Jonin double over as Kiba struck his kidney with a precise hit. The brunette took advantage and pulled the pillow away, rolling them over and was sitting on Kankuro's back: pinning him to the bed instead in no time. "What did you say, I couldn't hear you buddy."

"Get off me you beast!" Kankuro growled in pain as Kiba twisted his arm hard to keep him in place. "Should I return the favor maybe?" Then Kiba froze as he heard something in the distance. Even though involved in an playful fight his senses kicked in automatically. "What was that?" He got off the Jonin, crawled over to the head of the bed and opened Kankuro's bedroom window. There he saw a suspicious dust-cloud about two quarters away. It was getting bigger and bigger.  
"Kankuro, something is wrong…ough!"

Kankuro showed up in the window, taking in the scene while putting all his weight on Kiba to be able to see properly. Kiba's face was pressed against the window-frame. "That's the orphanage!" The second later Kankuro had left the bed.  
Kiba recovered and crawled over the bed as well, looking for his shoes and leather jacket. "Akamaru! Let's go, see if we can help as well."  
The dog barked in agreement and a minute later, the trio was rushing out of the apartment.

* * *

The street had been filled with people who observed the spreading cloud while screaming for help at every direction. The ninja trio had quickly taken the roof way towards the damaged area to avoid the crowd. Ninjas from Sand joined them on all sides, trying to reach the orphanage as quick as possible.  
Kankuro and Kiba got shocked as they arrived at the scene, landing in front of a degrade building of stone. "The orphanage is gone…" one ninja on Kankuro's left said. The Jonin started to look around for witnesses.  
Kiba turned around as three other Ninjas ran up to them from another street. "My god! W-we were practicing Doryūheki,(Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall) on the street next to this. The vibration must have spread under the ground!"

Kankuro immediately took charge. "You, get this report to Gaara and confirm that reinforces are on their way!" he said to the ninja next to him. "The rest of you, start digging for survivors, but be careful! There is still much of the building that can collapse!"  
The remaining ninjas spread out and started to look through the remains. It didn't take long before children were being pulled out from under the rocks. "We need the medic team here, NOW!" Kankuro yelled and a few other ninjas ran away to find their colleagues. More ninjas arrived to help and the scene became more and more hectic.

"Kankuro!" The Jonin looked over at Kiba. "Shouldn't we have earth-ninjas here as well. Maybe they can try to stabilize the rest of the building."  
Kankuro nodded and pointed at the ninja next to Kiba. "You heard him, find ninjas with earth-elements. But only Jonins! We need the experts here!"

"Yes, Kankuro-sama!"

"ARRF!" Kiba looked at Akamaru who started to dig and crawled under some rock- foundation and he quickly followed the dog. "Careful boy." Soon Kiba saw what Akamaru wanted to show him. A little girl was covered in dust, with a huge gash in her head. He reached for her and pulled her into his arms, quickly checking for a pulse. He sighed in relief as he felt a steady one. "Good boy, Akamaru." Carefully they crawled back out and Kiba handed the girl to the closest medic ninja.

Temari arrived at the scene and immediately helped two other ninjas lift a big piece of rock away. "Kankuro! Have you sent someone to Gaara!?"

"Yes," her brother called back, not stopping removing stones.

"And have you requested earth…"

"Yes, and more medics too!"

"Good." She confirmed and cursed as a ninja pulled out a boy who was too crushed to be alive. "Keep looking for survivors!"

A woman yanked in Kankuro's arm. "I'm looking for my son! He could have been in this building, please!"

"We are looking the best we can." The Jonin said, not stopping to lift away the heavy stones. "If you are cable of help removing stones, then do. If not, please back away and let us work." he told her firmly, but the woman quickly moved on the next Jonin. She was in too much of a panic to listen to words.

Temari dug her fan between two rock-blocks and bend them apart while looking around for more signs of life. Two other ninjas approached her and she pointed to another heap of stones. "Start there!"

"I need some help over here!" was called from the other side of the building. Kankuro quickly moved over and met Kiba there at the same time. "I think I heard a voice under here, but we have to get through this piece of wall first."

"Can we dig under it?" Kankuro asked.

"No, this wall was unharmed when the building came down. And the real entrance is blocked. This is the fastest way."

"I can get through that." Kiba jumped in on the conversation, causing both Suna ninjas look at him. "But my attack might cause the rest to collapse."

"Then we get someone here who can support it all after you are through." Kankuro said.

"Got it."

Kiba lined up a few meters away focusing on that wall. Akamaru barked but he shook his head. "I'll take this one, boy. Our combine attack will cause too much damage." Kiba signaled to Kankuro that he was ready and two ninjas with earth- element ninja joined him. As they made their hand signs, Kiba clapped his hands together before slammed them onto the ground, his nails already out. With a leap he threw his body into the air and spun until he created his whirl of attack. "Tsuuga! (Fang Destroyer)  
The stone wall gave in to his attack like nothing, just like he thought. But then he had to move quickly. As he landed on his knees under the building- ruins he located a child and he threw himself forward and covered the boy with his own body as he felt how the roof came down. That until another force from the ground rose around him and started to support the roof, causing him to sigh in relief; the earth Jutsu had worked.  
The boy was maybe five years old. He was crying and clutching on Kiba's leatherjacket with all his strength. "It's ok. You are safe now." The boy was in too much shock to say anything but he managed to point with a shaking finger to Kiba's left. The Inuzuka followed the direction and found a small arm on the ground. The rest of the owner's body was buried under big heap of remains.  
Kiba swallowed and slowly approached the arm. He knew it was probably too late but even so he reached out and checked the pulse on the small wrist. Feeling no sign of life he cursed to himself that it all had happened. What if they had made it sooner?

"Kiba! You have to come out! Kiba!"

Kiba was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of Kankuro's voice and he started to crawl with the sobbing boy in his arm. The current roof was low and the dirt was loose, making it hard to crawl very fast. He heard cracked sounds above him, giving him a good hint why Kankuro seemed so stressed.

"He is ok." He called out. As he reached the opening he was met with a hand with a black fingerless glove on. He accepted Kankuro's aid and was pulled up from the hole. "You too?"

"Yeah."

"Kankuro-sama! MOVE!" The earth-Jonin screamed and gasped. "WE CAN'T HOLD IT!"

The duo looked up and saw how a big part of the building wall leaned towards them and came down fast. Kiba felt Kankuro grip his arm and was going to jump out of the way but the boy pulled in his jacked made him loose his balance and fall on his knees. He didn't have time to take a new foothold so he did the only thing he could. Protect the boy with his own body once again.  
Kankuro had only taken two steps when Kiba fell, making him turn around, halting his own escape. "Kiba!"

"Kankuro down!" The Jonin heard his sister's voice and did as he was told by instinct. Temari gave out a high yell as she waived her huge fan. The wind, mixed with her chakra stopped the falling building and made it crumble at the opposite direction. The area was covered with new cloud of dust…

* * *

Heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway toward Gaara's office. They were both rushed and firm.  
"Temari-sama! Kankuro-sama! Now is really not a good time to talk to your brother, I must insist…!"

"Out of our way, Naki!" Temari yelled and literally pushed the Kazekage's assistant out of the way. "Don't try and stop us!"  
Kiba was following the siblings but kept in the background. Akamaru's nose nudged his hand telling him of another presence coming up behind them. Baki didn't pay the Konoha-duo any attention as he caught up with the group just before they reached their destination.

"The situation at the orphanage, report now!" he stated firmly but Temari was busy slamming in the door and entered the office.

"Gaara! Where were you, we needed you out there…!" Temari halted, causing Kankuro to walk into her back with a grunt.

It turned out that their little brother was not alone. The Kazekage had company not only by two ANBU but by two of the Elders of Suna as well. The first one was an old man, with abnormal, big, white eyebrows. He wore white bandages around his head and had very sad looking eyes. The other was a very old woman. Her eyes revealed a very stern persona and she wore her grey hair in a bun and a purple headband. Both were dressed in classic Suna-robes to protect them from heat.

"What in the world is this behavior, Temari!?" The old woman roared at the new arrived ninjas.

"Chiyo-baasama!" The blond kunoichi bowed, completely taken off guard. Kankuro repeated the action, causing Kiba to do the same with an awkward delay.

"Gaara." Baki called out informally. "There is no sign of a threat after further investigation."

"What are you talking about?" Temari asked alarmed by the statement.

"It seems…" Ebizō, the elderly man said in a very raspy voice. "That an incident occurred in the village an hour ago. We put in the necessary precautions to protect Gaara from an enemy attack."

"Gaara." Temari turned to her brother with a concern face. "It was not an enemy attack. It was an accident."

"The orphanage collapsed due to an earth-jutsu session gone wrong." Kankuro took over and moved over to slam his hands into Gaara's desk. "We're been digging kids out for over an hour! Seven kids dead. We waited for you to arrive, cause your sand could have made a huge difference to keep the rest of the building intact while we worked. What happened Gaara!?"

Kiba didn't see any reaction on the redheads face, he was just as calm and stoic as he remembered him. But his tone turned out soft. "I wasn't aware of that."

"Didn't you get the message I send you!? I send a ninja to inform you of the situation!" Kankuro roared.

"That wasn't the only thing you did." Another voice behind Kiba replied, causing the group of people to turn around. It was the same ninja that had visit Kankuro's apartment the same morning. The ninja bowed before entering the room. "You seemed to send out a lot of orders Kankuro-sama. I was the one who received the message from the ninja you send. He did not inform of an accident, only the destruction of the building."

Temari looked at her brother, not knowing what to say. She had arrived after that information had been passed on.

"He shouldn't have missed that detail. He was right next to me when we were informed on the sight!" The puppet-master said firmly.

"And yet, since it was you who took matters in your own hands, I see it only fair you take the blame for the miss." The ninja replied dryly, causing Kiba to glare at him.

"You dare to blame me!?" Temari put a hand on Kankuro's shoulder to calm him down.

"No one asked you to take charge. You have not been Jonin very long to qualify as an emergency rescue leader. But I suppose your pride got in your way. A pity really."

"You son of a bitch!" Kankuro raised his hands against the other but Baki stood in between them. "Enough!"

"Kankuro did all he could." Temari stated. "As I arrived at the scene, he had already requested medic-ninjas and Earth-skilled Jonins. We all did what we could to save those children!"

"I do not state that Kankuro didn't want to save the day. I say he lack discipline and is full of arrogance. I was first witness to it this morning. I was clearly ordered to take over as guide for Inuzuka Kiba, but was denied by the great Kankuro-sama as he felt too good for a mission sent by his younger brother."

"Enough." Gaara stated.

"And may I put in that he was plain rude as well…"

"I said enough." Kiba almost flinched at the cold tone that washed over the room. Gaara had an amazing talent of sounding threatening while not even raising his voice. Even Akamaru felt the cold. As the dog could determine how powerful chakra one person had, it was a clear sign as the dog lay down by Kiba's feet with a small whine. It reminded the Inuzuka of that time on Forest of Death; where Akamaru had hidden inside his jacket the first time they saw the sand siblings.

"Leave us." He ordered but then nodded to his brother and sister. "Except you two."

It took a minute but then the room was slowly being evacuated. The old woman got up from her seat with her stern look. "We do not approve of this information Gaara. We leave you now as you wish, but do not make it a habit to dismiss your elders like this. You have not been Kazekage long. And it's clear that you still have much to learn about handling things around here."

* * *

Baki held the door open for the two elders, followed by the reporting ninja, the two ANBU, Naki, Kiba and Akamaru before closing the door behind them. The Inuzuka sighed a little and leaned against the wall opposite of the office. He was going to wait for Kankuro there, but Baki's sudden hand on his shoulder made him gasp in surprise.

"If you tell anyone about this…!" the Captain growled.

"I won't." Kiba answered. He wasn't going to act scared to please the other. But he still needed to be polite as a guest.

"You have heard nothing, and you know nothing. Gaara is Kazekage now and the last thing we need is a gossip in Konoha that Suna is being ruled by a teen with family problems."

Kiba didn't show a sign of pain despite Baki's fingers dug into his shoulder. "I would never speak a bad word about Suna or Gaara's family."

"You better not. I would hope a Konoha Chunin would behave with a proper standard. If you ask me, these problems only started after you got here."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. I'm not trying to cause any trouble. Now…. Please let go of me."

The frown on Baki's face got deeper as if he was trying to read Kiba's sincerity. But after a warning growl from Akamaru behind him, the Captain relented and stepped back and left the duo without a word.

"Arf arf!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Yes boy, biting his leg off would definitely making the situation better." He said ironically.

* * *

Kankuro was leaning on the desk again. "Gaara, I did send that message properly."

"Why did you deny that mission I sent?"

"C'mon are you serious? We have a collapsed building here with dead kids; can we stick to the subject?"

"I am. Answer me."

"What's this about?" Temari asked.

"Kōji was complaining about your attitude Kankuro, not your work. Clearly you insulted him."

"So what, Kankuro insults everyone. What the big deal?" the kunoichi dismissed.

"But he never dismiss a mission given by me. That has never happened before. So why now, Kankuro?" The redhead raised his chin when the Jonin didn't answer. "You don't have to tell me why. It has to do with our guest. I want you to tell me what's happening here."

"I don't know what you are talking about. I already had a mission. Why give it away because that jerk came banging at my door. He is a self-righteous brat."

"You are right. Kōji shouldn't have been at you apartment. He was sent to the inn Kiba was assigned at. But the inn-keeper said you had him checked-out. Kiba was living with you. You saved him the first night he arrived. You caused trouble at Temari's lesson the other day. And now you refuse a mission cause of him. I hardly need to say anymore. Start talking."

Temari became very silent, as if she was in deep thought. "What is there to talk about? I was assign as Kiba's guide. Kind of hard not to without actually spending time with him!" Temari now frowned as she heard her brother's argument.

"Spending time with him yes. But that doesn't explain him living with you. And it does not explain you refusing handing him over to another shinobi. His presence here is what is causing your strange behavior, Kankuro." The Kazekage's voice was harder now as he was sick with games. "Do I need to interrogate him? Are your hiding something to protect us?"

Kankuro's eyes widened. "You think Kiba is threatening me? Blackmailing me? Gaara, you are wrong. Kiba is very loyal to Suna. He stayed on your request. He has spent the last hour digging out kids for god sake! He even used his own body to protect an orphaned boy from getting crushed!"

"Quit with the bullshit, Kankuro. You don't defend people like this!" Temari yelled, obviously switching team from Kankuro to team Gaara. The puppet-master looked at her in surprise. "Well… I'm telling the truth here."

"You risked your life because of him." "What?" "Gaara is right. Something is wrong here. As the wall came down you had all time in the world to move out of the way, but you stopped because of Kiba." Kankuro had to let out a small laugh. "It would be kind of a bastard move- even for me- to just leave him there when he had a defenseless boy in his arms!"

"But that's not the reason you reacted. I saw you. You were…" Both Gaara and Temari watched their brother closely as the puppet-master slammed his fist against the desk. "You know what…I don't need this shit." The Jonin said and moved towards the door despite his sisters calling.

"Kankuro!" Kiba looked up in surprise as the door flew open and Kankuro marched passed past him, gripping his arm and pulling him along.

"Oi! What's going on?"

"We are leaving!"

"I can see that. Where are we going?"

"Anywhere, got a problem with that!?"

"I…guess not?"

Temari turned her little brother. "What should we do?"

"Let them be. I will handle this."

* * *

At this point Kiba was used to be dragged around by the other, so he focused to keep up the pace and not trip on the stairs down. Kankuro seemed to boil in anger but at least Kiba felt included this time in some kind of retreat and not being left behind.

"Are we going back to the orphanage?" he asked even though he doubted it since all kids had been accounted for, included the deceased.

"No." Kankuro confirmed a little harsher than he intended.

"Then wher…"

"Can you just be quiet and come along!? Anywhere but here!"

The canine handler rolled his eyes but decided to just go with the flow. That was, until, Kankuro made an abrupt halt. if It hadn't been for the grip on his arm, he would have fallen on his face. As he recovered Kiba peeped out from behind Kankuro's larger frame and recognized Kōji and the other kid Temari had called Naki, talking to each other in the hallway. As the Shinobi noticed the duo he stretched his own posture and gave Kankuro a dominant look.

"I was hoping to talk to you again, Kankuro-sama." He said but by the tone it seemed like he wanted to pick a fight.

"That wish is very one-sided." Kankuro said and continued to walk, Kiba followed automatically.

"I really don't see a reason for us to not get along Kankuro." Kōji tried again.

"Even you must see that Gaara has too many responsibilities to have to worry that we can't handle our differences. All I want is to avoid this pig-headed conflict in the future when we get our orders. Surely it will make our duty a lot easier."

"Kankuro had to smirk as he stopped right in front of the blond. "Poor little Kōji. You think this discussion in there was about you? Let me ease your worries. Your little speech in there is already disregarded and forgotten." He stated loving the hint of hate in Kōji's eye.

Naki couldn't help but to gasp, obviously worried that the two Suna ninjas would start a battle in the hallway. "Um…let's just get along, ok?" the assistant said in a shy tone.

Kankuro was done with the trash and turned to leave, when Kōji instead turned his attention to Kiba. For some reason it took all of the puppet-master's willpower to don't act on his instinct to pull Kiba along despite Kōji's greeting.

"Apologies, we haven't had the chance to formally meet yet. You can call me Kōji." He said and held out his hand.

Kiba felt Kankuro's let go of his arm, and he hastily turned around and accepted the hand. "Inuzuka Kiba. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." The dark blond ninja smiled smugly. "It's very nice to have a fellow ninja from Konoha here. Let me assure you that I take my assignment from our Kazekage very seriously and will guide you with the best standard possible when all this embarrassing mess is sorted out."

In the corner of his eye, Kiba saw Kankuro turn around, most likely to punch Kōji's lights out. So he decided to interfere. It a way to make it look completely natural he put his arm around Kankuro's neck just as the Jonin turned around, making it seem like a friendly manner, he grinned big at the other.  
"Thank you Kōji. I appreciate your offer, but I already have the best guide that Suna can offer me. Have a nice day." And with that it was his turn to pull a very confused Kankuro along, not even glancing back at the stunned duo left behind.

* * *

Kiba sat in the sofa, causally looking through a magazine. It had been over an hour and Kankuro had not spoken a word. The Puppet-master was sitting by a table placed behind the sofa, and the wooden surface was filled with puppet-parts and tools. From time to time Kiba could hear the Jonin muttering and cursing to himself, no doubt about the earlier conversation with his siblings. Kiba rolled his eyes a little when he heard tools being placed on the table with much more force than necessary.  
The Inuzuka sighed and let the magazine drop next to him and he leaned back against the back support. He didn't know how to deal with Kankuro's stress. He wasn't sure if it was best to let the Jonin be, or confront him so he could let it all out.  
But he did know one thing; He liked the Jonin and he felt himself get very affected by the situation. Like Kankuro's pain became his own.  
What had happened in Gaara's office was unfair to say the least. Kankuro didn't deserve that kind of bashing. He had handled the situation with the orphanage like a leader should. Hopefully Gaara could see that. Or maybe he didn't. Was that the reason Kankuro was upset? Kiba became tired of sitting around doing nothing. He wanted to help Kankuro.  
Like Akamaru could read his mind, the white wolf let out a grunt in disapproval, causing Kiba to smile. He simply ruffled the dog on the head before getting up from the sofa and move over to the table.

Kankuro felt Kiba presence coming over but he didn't know what to say. Surely Kiba would see there was only one chair and get tired of just standing next to him. He had been wrong. The puppet-master twitched an eyebrow in annoyance as the brunette simply jumped up on the table and sat down. Just removing a part or two from under his legs.

"Care to talk about what's bothering you now?"

"No." Kankuro said and yanked a puppet-arm away from Kiba's hands in annoyance. Kiba didn't say anything about it, just studied Kankuro's tense body language.

"Look… you shouldn't let what that guy Kōji get to you. He is probably jealous about your status." He said, ignoring Akamaru who walked into the bedroom, probably in protest.

"I know he is. He volunteered for the position by Gaara's side. But Gaara wanted me and Temari." He answered, not looking up while putting together another part.

"Then why do you let him affect you like this?"

"You know…I thought I told you I didn't want to talk about it." Kankuro let out a growl as Kiba this time yanked the screwdriver out of his hand and dodge the puppet-master's hand as he tried to take it back.

"I know you did. But I think you need to talk to someone about it."

"And why does it have to be you? You who…!" Kankuro stood up so the chair tipped over and slammed into the floor. With dark eyes of rage he yelled in Kiba's face. "Just get out of my face!"

Kiba frowned, but was not affected by the scream. "me what?" They were both interrupted by a high howl and a bang.

"Akamaru!?" Kiba jumped down from the table and rushed into the bedroom with Kankuro close behind him. As they entered the other room they found no sign of the white wolf, but loud noises came from the closed Kuroari's torso.

"You stupid mutt, Kuroari has an sensor that closes his torso as soon as something is entering him." Kankuro growled and took control over the puppet, making the hatch open again. Akamaru came out, a bit shaken and sought comfort at Kiba's side.

"Uh uh, you know better than that." Kiba said but still gave the dog a loose hug.

"Go and take a nap." He said, pleased as the dog did as told without argue this time. Kiba looked up at Kankuro who closed the hatch again.

"It's something I've done. I caused this fight between your siblings. Baki said I started this." The puppet-master turned to him.

"Baki did? He too?" Kiba got to his feet and approached Kankuro as he held his head in frustration.

"Why! Why! Why do they have to interfere!? Leave me alone!"

"Kankuro, what causing this pressure on you? What have I done?" Kiba held back a yell as the Jonin took hold of his shoulders and tried to shake him.

"You are here, inside my head. Why? The others sees that. What's with you Kiba?" Kiba pushed the other away and quickly moved over to the bedroom door, closing it in Akamaru's face.

"Stay here." he ordered against the protest. He then returned to Kankuro and blocked the puppet-master's hand as Kankuro tried to shove him away. "Let's talk about it." Kiba stated firmly.

"Are you crazy!? I don't want to talk about it!"

"I feel it too, Kankuro, let's sort this out!"

"How can I sort it out, when you are in my face!"

"Calm the fuck down!" Kiba had trouble keeping Kankuro at bay as the other tried to leave, so he tackled him causing them both end up on the bed with Kiba on top. Both were breathing heavily and Kankuro felt it again. The magnetism drawing him closer to Kiba. The uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. Kiba's brown eyes, staring deep into his own; exposing his private soul.

"I…I…"Kiba took a deep breath.

"Akamaru feel it too. I'm drawn to you…I don't know wha-!" the brunette gasped as Kankuro rolled them over, making him end up on top.

"Kiba…" the eye contact continued. Both trying to figure out what these feelings came from. Kankuro clutched at Kiba's leather-jacket so his knuckles turned white, but at the same time he leaned in closer.

Kiba wanted to let out his claws into Kankuro's shoulders to keep him at a safe distance, but at the same time he almost pulled the Jonin closer.  
Kankuro's lips barely touched Kiba's parted ones. They simply brushed at one other, once…twice… three times. Kiba took in Kankuro's scent, letting it consume him. Their noses touched. And then there was another brush of parted lips. No one closed the distance completely but they both took in the other's presence and chakra.

"What are you doing to me, Kiba?" Kankuro whispered with a hoarse tone Kiba never heard before. He could feel the Jonin's breath against his mouth.

"…Kankuro…" Kiba gasped as the Jonin threw himself backwards with a cry of rage, breaking their contact, punching the pillow next to Kiba's head, before taking flight.

"Kankuro…Kankuro, no don't go!" Kiba crawled off the bed as well. The Jonin threw open the door, ignoring that he almost stepped on a growling Akamaru and rushed to the front door, not even closing it behind him. Kiba stumbled out from the bedroom, taking support on the doorframe while panting.

"Kankuro I'm sorry! Please!" He would probably be able to catch the other, but something uncomfortable held him back. Everything was ruined. Their friendship. Everything they had built. Gone in one stupid moment.

"No…damn it! Kankuro, do not leave like this!" he called out in the empty room before letting himself fall to the floor. "I'm sorry… I fucked up…"

* * *

Temari had just been at the Main Gate picking up the daily reports for Gaara. Her thoughts was disturbed as a loud banging sound came to her as she entered the hallway leading to her little brother's office. She quickly picked up her speed and gasped as she found Kankuro in the middle of the hall, slamming his fist over and over into the wall. "Kankuro!" "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck it all!" the Jonin roared, not realizing that his fist was currently losing the battle against the stone surface. Dropping the reports, Temari rushed forward and grabbed her brother's arm. She was forced to duck as Kankuro struck out at her in his blind rage, and she then swiftly used her fan to pin him to the wall. "What's gotten into you, baka!" "I can't!" Temari's eyes softened as she saw how her brother was breathing heavily and showing such vulnerability in his eyes. "Temari…I can't!" he gasped. -

Kiba was rushing through the Suna village, Akamaru close behind him. "Damnit. This was not supposed to happen. Kankuro where are you?" He had only stayed in the apartment for a few minutes before panic consumed him. He didn't want to lose Kankuro. They had messed it up but if this was the end of their companionship, then he would never forgive himself. Akamaru whined next to his master. The heat was too heavy to focus on his nose. But Kiba's distress was affecting him as well, so he was not ready to give up.  
The duo made a halt on a roof-top and Kiba scanned the streets below but there were no sign of him. Just as he was going to continue he cursed mentally as he felt a well- known ninja presence behind them. That could not be a good sign. "Inuzuka Kiba of Konoha. You have been summoned." A Suna Ninja announced.

* * *

"I thank you for your service here." Gaara stated. "Your mission is complete. Please send my regards to Lady Tsunade." Kiba glared at the floor in defeat, but forced himself to bow respectfully. "I assume your message is done for me to bring to her?" he asked, but already knowing the answer.

"After reading the scroll you brought, I found there was no need with a hastily replay. I'm sorry for kept you here unnecessarily."

"No need for an apology Kazekage-sama." He bowed once more.

"I will be taking my leave as you wish." He dared to say, but was not able to read Gaara reaction. The redhead had a mysterious calm that was out of this world. As Kiba turned his back he took two steps before his stomach twisted painfully.

"Something wrong?" Gaara asked at the obvious discomfort from the brunette. Kiba didn't turn around, as he felt himself holding back his emotions.

"Kankuro…may I say goodbye to him?" he asked in a mere whisper. The silence between Gaara's answer was like needles and the Inuzuka almost screamed out his frustration.

"….I'm afraid Kankuro was sent out on a urgent mission an half hour ago. He won't be back for a couple of days."

"…. Please…tell him thanks for everything."Kiba didn't wait for a replay, wanting to get out of that office as quick he could. Akamaru and he walked in silence back to Kankuro's empty apartment to pick up their belongings. He half expected the Jonin to be there, working on his puppets. But he realized that was too easy. Kiba put on his backpack, watching the table with abandoned parts. He wondered if he should leave a note. He really wanted to leave a note. Explain. But he didn't know what to write. He wasn't sure why it went so bad. That panic in Kankuro's eyes would haunt his mind years to come. How could he have been so reckless? Despite being a ninja he had let his feelings get the best of him, not caring about the consequences. And now he had ruin Kankuro's trust. No, it was best not leaving a note. Kankuro didn't want anything more to do with him. And he would respect that wish.

The walk towards the main gate was a heavy one. He passed the inn he had been assigned to. If only he had reached that place without being jumped. He also passed the restaurant he and Kankuro had shared breakfast. He had laughed so hard, having the best time with the Jonin. Last, as if the fate wanted to punch him in the gut, he walked past the training ground, where they had played the prank on Temari's students. The girls were there, working hard on their kunai-skills. As he passed them they took noticed of him and whispered between themselves like typical schoolgirls. He ignored them and picked up the pace, the funny memories of his and Kankuro's great time together haunted his mind already. The sign out at the gate was a quick one. Gaara had already sent word that he would leave. He couldn't help but to feel like an illness that was being deported. Akamaru's nose nudged his hand but he hardly noticed as they exited the city together.

A pair of black eyes and a pair of green eyes were following the Konoha duo from a safe distance.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Temari asked.

"I'm not sure of anything."

"You better be. Gaara did you a favor, lying to him like that."

The blond lectured and put a hand on her hip. "You really screwed this up, didn't you? Getting involved with that brat."

"Kiba. His name is Kiba, Temari." Kankuro said roughly. He watched as the duo stopped at the main gate and talked to the guard. He had panicked. His emotions had been so unnatural for him, and he had screwed everything up. Once he realized what had happened between them, he had run off to his siblings, asking them to solve his mess. This was not who he was. Kiba was not a threat to him, and even if he was. Kankuro was not a person who asked his siblings to fights his battles. Hearing Temari bitching about it now, should be enough to get on his nerves, but it wasn't. It was the feeling of failure and loss that consumed him. He flinched as his sister's hand touched his shoulder.

"Do you really like him that much, Kankuro?"

"No!" He answered too quickly. "No…how can I?" he added, more to himself than to her. Temari didn't know what to believe. Never in her life had she seen her brother like this. Protecting her family had been her main job for years and she had been so used to have her brothers close that she never even gave it a thought that they one day would have separate lives. It didn't matter that Kiba was a male. It had been just as shocking if Kankuro would have freaked out over a girl. They were the three sand siblings of Suna. They didn't have normal lives!  
And yet…she had been dragging her brother into the bathroom and forcing him down under the tab just to get him to cool down from his hectic state. The face-paint along with his sweat had been washed off, and she had continued to bandage his hand while getting the story out of him. And there was no doubt about it…not then…not now…her brother was in love… what an idiot.

A warm feeling filled her and she closed her eyes while smiling. She loved her brother. And it was only one thing she could do for him now. Guide him. It was her job as big sister after all.

"No, I suppose you are right. What would people think if you ran away with a stray mutt like that?" She said with the best overbearing voice she could master. "I say we avoided a real kunai there."

"Temari…"

"Honestly brother, I don't know why you got so worked up over him for? We are the three siblings of sand. You are the right hand of the Kazekage. You don't get overthrown by feelings! It's kind of funny if you think about it, right?"

"…"

"And even if we were to get interested in other people, which we are not, surely we would never fall to such a low standard like a Konoha-shinobi. I mean c'mon! The people of Suna are in a whole different league than those weak leaf-people. Am I right?" She already knew she had hit home with him as he turned to her with a determination in his eyes.

"I can't lose him, Tem." A cool breeze came over them and the two family members shared an understanding eye contact. Not wanting to be dragged into an emotional moment Temari leaned causally against her fan, letting out an annoyed 'tch' but couldn't hold back a small smile.

"Moron. Then why are you still standing here for?" It took a few seconds for the words to sink in, but then Kankuro let out a sigh of relief. And he started to run. Temari didn't move. She expected to see her idiotic brother to rush down the street any minute now like the fool he was. However, she did not expect to get an embrace from behind. "I love you sis." Was whispered in her ear and then Kankuro was gone again. Not even the cool breeze could cool down her blushing cheek. Kankuro felt like he was flying down the street. He had to make it. But what would he say? No matter what, this needed to be handled carefully and with a humbled approach.

Akamaru held back a whine as he gazed over the endless area of sand. Luckily the hot sun was starting to set, but the journey would still be long and tough. Especially without the normally joyful energy between him and his master. This time he couldn't hold back a whine. Kiba's condition was so bad it felt like it drained him too. He tried one more time to nudge his master's hand and even gave it a small lick but the result was the same as before.

With the Suna village right behind them, Kiba also gazed out over the open terrain. He felt empty and wounded. He didn't even have the energy to complain about the sand or the distance to Konoha. Even though he tried to keep himself together, it didn't last as he felt Akamaru lick his hand and he started to shake. "No boy…I'm not fine." He whispered with effort. He felt Akamaru's worry and forced to shake the overbearing feelings off. He needed to pull himself together damn it!

"Let's go home, Akamaru."

The wolf started to pace forward letting Kiba fall a little behind. Hopefully their comrades back in the village would be able to cheer Kiba up. Lady Tsunade maybe even had another mission for them when they got back. And there was always training sessions with the Inuzuka clan that would need Kiba's full attention. Tsume wouldn't accept any day drifting…

A sudden smell brought Akamaru out of his planning and he turned around to confirm the guess. The sight made him quite puzzled. He didn't expect this. He didn't understand it either. But what the heck…who could tell how humans worked? With that conclusion he let out a form of a snicker that he had picked up by Kiba long time ago. Kiba frowned at Akamaru's sudden noise. What was the dog being ironic about all of sudden?

He watched the dog for a second and then turned around and that was all he had time to do before rogue lips crashed onto his own in a passionate lip lock. Strong arms wrapped around his waist pulling him in an almost crushing hold. Kiba's felt how his chakra stirred in his body as he went into a defensive mode. But the next moment the very familiar scent of Kankuro filled his nose and he got excited of that instead.  
Kankuro worked his lips against Kiba's. His earlier plan was gone from thought. All he wanted was to hold the Inuzuka close and not let go. Not when he finally realized how he felt.  
The taste of Kiba's mouth was overwhelming him completely. He didn't care if the other couldn't breathe, he needed more. As one hand stayed on Kiba's back the other reached up to the Inuzuka's head, grabbing a fist full of brown hair and fabric of the forehead protector so he could so he could yank Kiba's head back for a deeper invasion. Kiba let out a mix between groan and moan by the pull but his arms found themselves locked around Kankuro's neck.  
Even though Kiba parted his lips willingly for the other, it wouldn't have mattered. Kankuro entered his mouth aggressively, searching out his tongue for a passionate dance. Kankuro let out a moan of his own, keeping the grip of Kiba's hair steady as he tilted the head to the side from time to time to change the angle. After a while he reluctantly pulled away smiling as Kiba bit his lower lip gently at the end.

"I'm so sorry Kiba…for everything." He whispered with tension, completely worried that he would get rejected. He knew he had damaged much between them.  
Kiba broke the eye contact and leaned in on Kankuro's side. The Jonin felt a hot breath over his neck, making him go crazy.  
Kiba inhaled Kankuro's scent again. Loving the smell and letting it fill him up.

"You fucking Idiot…" he answered making Kankuro heart to stop. "…don't scare me like that." Kankuro let out huge sigh of relief, snickering at Kiba's sadistic humor to keep him on edge. Realizing he still had a grip, he pulled Kiba's head back, watching Kiba's smirk. The brunette seemed to like to be handle firmly. The Inuzuka was quicker this time, closing the distance between them in another passionate kiss.  
This time he let the go of his grip and let both hands firmly stroke Kiba's lower back, excited to feel Kiba's entire body rubbing against his own.  
As they pulled back a second time, they let their forehead protectors collide with a cling-sound. The Suna symbol pressing against the Konoha leaf in a new union.

"I'll see you soon." Kankuro whispered.

"Yeah…" Kiba nodded, before he felt Akamaru tunnel him so he ended up on the wolf's back. Akamaru made distance between them as it was time to leave. Kankuro already missed his new lover's touch, but he didn't say anything about it. Their parting was unavoidable. He was however surprised as Akamaru turned his head and wiggled his tail, before letting out a happily bark. Kiba was just as surprised as him, but then let out a laugh, translating his dogs comment.

"We'll see you soon!" And with that, Akamaru took off with his master; a new energy of happiness would get them through this desert in no time.

Kankuro got the urge to call out something like 'take care out there' or 'be careful in the desert' or even 'make sure you send an eagle when you are back home' but he didn't. In love or not, it was not his thing to fuss over his lover like that. And Kiba was more than able to get home safely even though he was a trouble-magnet. He was still a Chunin from Konoha. So keeping true to himself, he turned back to his own village, keeping his head high and not showing a sign what had just occurred between him and Suna's guest.

Kiba held back the urge to turn around and waive to his new lover. He wasn't that soft and sentimental. His new relationship did however give him such joy to life and confidence that they would be home in no time. And he looked forward what the future would hold for him and Kankuro. Akamaru barked happily and he let out another laugh with his comrade. "Show me what you got boy!"  
And with that the duo left Suna behind them, Kiba's characteristic howl of joy echoed through the desert.

 **The End.**

 **I really didn't want to start my new story without a prologue how this pairing came to be. Want their relationship deep and rock-steady for what's ahead of them. My next Main story will be called, "Don't let our strings break."**


End file.
